Inhibition of S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase induces endothelial senescence via hTERT downregulation

Background and aims: It has been established that endothelial senescence plays a critical role in the development of atherosclerosis. Elevated S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) level induced by inhibition of S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase (SAHH) is one of the risk factors of atherosclerosis; however, the interplay between endothelial senescence and inhibition of SAHH is largely unknown. Methods: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) after serial passage were used. SAHH-specific inhibitor adenosine dialdehyde (ADA) and SAHH siRNA treated HUVECs and SAHH(+/-)mice were used to investigate the effect of SAHH inhibition on endothelial senescence. Results: HUVECs exhibited distinct senescence morphology as HUVECs were passaged, together with a decrease in intracellular SAHH expression and an increase in intracellular SAH levels. SAHH inhibition by ADA or SAHH siRNA elevated SA beta-gal activity, arrested proliferation, and increased the expression of p16, p21 and p53 in HUVECs and the aortas of mice. In addition, decreased expression of hTERT and reduced occupancy of H3K4me3 over the hTERT promoter region were observed following SAHH inhibition treatment. To further verify the role of hTERT in the endothelial senescence induced by SAHH inhibition, hTERT was overexpressed with a plasmid vector under CMV promoter. hTERT overexpression rescued the senescence phenotypes in endothelial cells induced by SAHH inhibition. Conclusions: SAHH inhibition induces endothelial senescence via downregulation of hTERT expression, which is associated with attenuated histone methylation over the hTERT promoter region.

Automated summary

The study found that SAHH inhibition induces endothelial senescence by downregulating hTERT expression, further confirming the important role of endothelial senescence in atherosclerosis.