If scientists know more about arterial calcification, they may be able to develop new treatments in the future for cardiovascular diseases that can develop in people with arterial calcification. A better look at arterial calcification is possible by creating an atlas of arterial calcification cell types. Researchers from UMC Utrecht and the University of Virginia together received a $200,000 grant to create this atlas now.
In people with arteriosclerosis, calcification causes the wall of the arteries to thicken and a plaque to form. With the grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, associate professor Sander van der Laan of UMC Utrecht and scientists Clint Miller and Chongzhi Zang of the University of Virginia in the U.S. will work together to create an atlas of arterial calcification cell types and the role of these cell types in the formation of such plaques. Sander explains: “We are going to create an atlas that lists the different types of cell types, or ‘single-cells,’ found in the plaques of the coronary artery and carotid artery in adults. With this atlas, we will be able to develop new treatments in the future for diseases such as myocardial infarction, stroke, TIA or etal legs, which can occur in people with arterial calcification.”
For the atlas of different cell types, the three researchers use datasets available to anyone, including one the researchers recently published about. “Our main goal of this ‘single-cell’ atlas, called MetaPlaq, is to map out exactly which cell types and transitional cell subtypes are involved in the formation and progression of plaques,” they said. The MetaPlaq atlas will give us clues about the role of vascular and immune cells and the specific cell types responsible for plaques,” continued Sander.
When the atlas is complete, all scientists in the field of complex genetics and single-cell research will be able to use it as a reference in genome-wide association studies. Thus, scientists around the world will be able to use a comprehensive open-source single-cell web portal for arterial calcification, entirely in the spirit of Open Science. Sander: “This web portal is designed for all (clinical) researchers, not just colleagues who are good at handling large data sets. Thus, many more fellow researchers can gain relevant insights into different cell types and molecular mechanisms via MetaPlaq. We also believe that our atlas will thus provide them with possible targets for the development of new drugs against arterial calcification.”
The research by Sander van der Laan, Clint Miller and Chongzhi Zang will take about 1.5 years. Says the trio, “We expect that integration of public data and further data analyses will allow us to get a better idea of which genes are expressed and which cell types are important. Thanks to the plaque atlas, we can take a step toward developing new biomarkers, substances you can measure in the blood that allow you to determine what the disease risks are for patients. Our plaque atlas will also make it possible to develop new treatments for cardiovascular disease in the future.”
