Lu LIU

PhD, Cellular and molecular biology

[Stanford Surgery @StanfordSurgery]

Stanford Surgery celebrated science last week with the 26th Annual Holman Day 📺 Watch the recap! #Holman25

[Lu LIU @Lu_LIU92]

Thrilled to share our latest research published in Circulation Research. Our work unravels how genetic variations at the LRP1 locus impact vascular disease mechanisms🧬 . A massive thank you to my amazing mentors @n_bouatianaji and @Adrien_Georges!
https://t.co/XPdya2Ag76

[Extracellular Matrix News @ExtracellMatrix]

New this week in @CircRes! 💡

Under the leadership of Dr. Nabila Bouatia-Naji (@n_bouatianaji) & Adrien Georges, researchers propose decreased LRP1 expression in smooth muscle cells to remodel the ECM enhanced by TGF-B.

🔗 https://t.co/FV82I6CtHW

[Ardem Patapoutian @ardemp]

I wrote down my rules on how to Science. I hope you find it useful!

[Bonnie Berger Lab @lab_berger]

The MIT Bioinformatics Seminar is back this semester! We have an exciting series of speakers, with some joining virtually and others hybrid/in-person. Please check out the talk schedule here: https://t.co/N3v45HpTTu. (1/n)

[Carmen De Miguel, PhD, MS, FAHA @Carmendemigue12]

If you (like me) missed this fantastic #HYPHIP live chat with authors @Adrien_Georges and @Lu_LIU92 moderated by the great @guto_montezano today, do not despair!!! You can still follow the conversation by searching for #HYPHIP @HyperAHA 👇🏽

[Francisco Rios @fjorios]

Thanks for the great scientific discussion @Lu_LIU92 @n_bouatianaji @Adrien_Georges. It is a very interesting study and very important information for the field. Thanks @guto_montezano for hosting the chat #hypHIP @HyperAHA

[Guto Montezano @guto_montezano]

@Lu_LIU92 @n_bouatianaji @Adrien_Georges I am so looking forward to the many more findings you will have and please do share with us! Good luck in your future scientific adventures!!!! Thank you all for participating and see you on our next chat! @HyperAHA #HYPHIP

[Guto Montezano @guto_montezano]

@Lu_LIU92 @n_bouatianaji @Adrien_Georges The hour has passed too fast! I absolutely loved chatting with you and for sure learned a lot today! Thank you so much for spending time with us today! And again congrats on your amazing paper 1/2 @HyperAHA #HYPHIP

[Lu LIU @Lu_LIU92]

@guto_montezano @n_bouatianaji @Adrien_Georges @HyperAHA Thank you so much for your invitation! #HYPHIP @HyperAHA

[Lu LIU @Lu_LIU92]

@guto_montezano @n_bouatianaji @Adrien_Georges @HyperAHA A15
Unfortunately no SMC model will fit all needs. We provided resources to help answer these questions and help initiating more functional studies on the role of VSMCs in CVDs, particularly for complex CVDs where the genetic basis involves complex regulation.
#HYPHIP @HyperAHA

[Lu LIU @Lu_LIU92]

@guto_montezano @n_bouatianaji @Adrien_Georges @HyperAHA A14. Good question, especially as calcium release was increased in R-SMCs. However, we did not observe any sign of calcification or expression of calcification markers in these cells. This would be interesting to test their reaction to the calcifying medium.
#HYPHIP @HyperAHA

[Lu LIU @Lu_LIU92]

@guto_montezano @n_bouatianaji @Adrien_Georges @HyperAHA A11. There are many ion channels involved in vascular tone regulation and we did not verify all of them. That is a really good point to figure out the expression of all genes throughout differentiation.
#HYPHIP @HyperAHA

[Lu LIU @Lu_LIU92]

@guto_montezano @n_bouatianaji @Adrien_Georges @HyperAHA A9. Good question! Based on expression data, we did not observe any clear sign of inflammatory phenotype in R or TP-SMCs. However, we did not try to induce a pro-inflammatory phenotype. These cell types may have different behavior with respect to inflammation.#HYPHIP @HyperAHA

[Lu LIU @Lu_LIU92]

@guto_montezano @n_bouatianaji @Adrien_Georges @HyperAHA A7.
We were surprised to detect a higher expression of genes involved in SMC phenotypic regulation in R-SMCs, such as TCF21 for example, even though they have reduced proliferation and migration. This may make them a great in vitro model to study this process. #HYPHIP @HyperAHA

[Lu LIU @Lu_LIU92]

@quelsarafian @HyperAHA @n_bouatianaji @Adrien_Georges @guto_montezano A6. That is a really good question. Actually, we thought iPSC from dermal fibroblast could not maintain the epigenetic markers related to CVD. We thought Reprogramming would remove the epigenetic phenotype. #HYPHIP @HyperAHA

[Lu LIU @Lu_LIU92]

@guto_montezano @n_bouatianaji @Adrien_Georges @HyperAHA A4 Both cell types could efficiently contract a collagen gel, TP-SMCs were even stronger in this assay, which reflects mostly the wound repair function of SMCs. R-SMCs were more “activable” with stronger calcium release in response to Angiotensin, for example.
#HYPHIP @HyperAHA

[Lu LIU @Lu_LIU92]

@guto_montezano @n_bouatianaji @Adrien_Georges @HyperAHA A3 iPSCs can be efficiently used to model the effect of chromosomal differences on CVDs, but they will lack most of the hormonal effects and other gender-related factors. A combination of approaches will be necessary to fully cover this aspect. 2/2
#HYPHIP @HyperAHA

[Lu LIU @Lu_LIU92]

@guto_montezano @n_bouatianaji @Adrien_Georges @HyperAHA A3
As you said, sex differences are important in cardiovascular disease. In our study, we included 2 female and 1 male iPSC cell lines, but we did not find interesting differences, probably due to limited sample size. 1/2
#HYPHIP @HyperAHA

[Lu LIU @Lu_LIU92]

@guto_montezano @n_bouatianaji @Adrien_Georges @HyperAHA A1. We found R-SMCs ta have a closer expression profile to coronary arteries with high expression of genes involved in blood pressure regulation and coronary artery disease. These cells may thus represent a promising alternative SMC model for CVDs 4/4 #HYPHIP @HyperAHA