Quanyi Zhao

All Publications

• A single-cell atlas of Drosophila trachea reveals glycosylation-mediated Notch signaling in cell fate specification. Nature communications Li, Y., Lu, T., Dong, P., Chen, J., Zhao, Q., Wang, Y., Xiao, T., Wu, H., Zhao, Q., Huang, H. 2024; 15 (1): 2019

  Abstract

  The Drosophila tracheal system is a favorable model for investigating the program of tubular morphogenesis. This system is established in the embryo by post-mitotic cells, but also undergoes remodeling by adult stem cells. Here, we provide a comprehensive cell atlas of Drosophila trachea using the single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) technique. The atlas documents transcriptional profiles of tracheoblasts within the Drosophila airway, delineating 9 major subtypes. Further evidence gained from in silico as well as genetic investigations highlight a set of transcription factors characterized by their capacity to switch cell fate. Notably, the transcription factors Pebbled, Blistered, Knirps, Spalt and Cut are influenced by Notch signaling and determine tracheal cell identity. Moreover, Notch signaling orchestrates transcriptional activities essential for tracheoblast differentiation and responds to protein glycosylation that is induced by high sugar diet. Therefore, our study yields a single-cell transcriptomic atlas of tracheal development and regeneration, and suggests a glycosylation-responsive Notch signaling in cell fate determination.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41467-024-46455-w

  View details for PubMedID 38448482

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC10917797

• Discovery of Transacting Long Noncoding RNAs That Regulate Smooth Muscle Cell Phenotype. Circulation research Shi, H., Nguyen, T., Zhao, Q., Cheng, P., Sharma, D., Kim, H. J., Brian Kim, J., Wirka, R., Weldy, C. S., Monteiro, J. P., Quertermous, T. 2023

  Abstract

  Smooth muscle cells (SMCs), the major cell type in atherosclerotic plaques, are vital in coronary artery diseases (CADs). Smooth muscle cell (SMC) phenotypic transition, which leads to the formation of various cell types in atherosclerotic plaques, is regulated by a network of genetic and epigenetic mechanisms and governs the risk of disease. The involvement of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) has been increasingly identified in cardiovascular disease. However, SMC lncRNAs have not been comprehensively characterized, and their regulatory role in SMC state transition remains unknown.A discovery pipeline was constructed and applied to deeply strand-specific RNA sequencing from perturbed human coronary artery SMC with different disease-related stimuli, to allow for the detection of novel lncRNAs. The functional relevance of a select few novel lncRNAs were verified in vitro.We identified 4579 known and 13 655 de novo lncRNAs in human coronary artery SMC. Consistent with previous long noncoding RNA studies, these lncRNAs overall have fewer exons, are shorter in length than protein-coding genes (pcGenes), and have relatively low expression level. Genomic location of these long noncoding RNA is disproportionately enriched near CAD-related TFs (transcription factors), genetic loci, and gene regulators of SMC identity, suggesting the importance of their function in disease. Two de novo lncRNAs, ZEB-interacting suppressor (ZIPPOR) and TNS1-antisense (TNS1-AS2), were identified by our screen. Combining transcriptional data and in silico modeling along with in vitro validation, we identified CAD gene ZEB2 as a target through which these lncRNAs exert their function in SMC phenotypic transition.Expression of a large and diverse set of lncRNAs in human coronary artery SMC are highly dynamic in response to CAD-related stimuli. The dynamic changes in expression of these lncRNAs correspond to alterations in transcriptional programs that are relevant to CAD, suggesting a critical role for lncRNAs in SMC phenotypic transition and human atherosclerotic disease.

  View details for DOI 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.122.321960

  View details for PubMedID 36852690

• Smad3 regulates smooth muscle cell fate and mediates adverse remodeling and calcification of the atherosclerotic plaque. Nature cardiovascular research Cheng, P., Wirka, R. C., Kim, J. B., Kim, H. J., Nguyen, T., Kundu, R., Zhao, Q., Sharma, D., Pedroza, A., Nagao, M., Iyer, D., Fischbein, M. P., Quertermous, T. 2022; 1 (4): 322-333

  Abstract

  Atherosclerotic plaques consist mostly of smooth muscle cells (SMC), and genes that influence SMC phenotype can modulate coronary artery disease (CAD) risk. Allelic variation at 15q22.33 has been identified by genome-wide association studies to modify the risk of CAD and is associated with the expression of SMAD3 in SMC. However, the mechanism by which this gene modifies CAD risk remains poorly understood. Here we show that SMC-specific deletion of Smad3 in a murine atherosclerosis model resulted in greater plaque burden, more outward remodelling and increased vascular calcification. Single-cell transcriptomic analyses revealed that loss of Smad3 altered SMC transition cell state toward two fates: a SMC phenotype that governs both vascular remodelling and recruitment of inflammatory cells, as well as a chondromyocyte fate. Together, the findings reveal that Smad3 expression in SMC inhibits the emergence of specific SMC phenotypic transition cells that mediate adverse plaque features, including outward remodelling, monocyte recruitment, and vascular calcification.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s44161-022-00042-8

  View details for PubMedID 36246779

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC9560061

• ZEB2 Shapes the Epigenetic Landscape of Atherosclerosis Circulation Cheng, P., Wirka, R. C., Clarke, L., Zhao, Q., Kundu, R., Nguyen, T., Nair, S., Sharma, D., Kim, H., Shi, H., Assimes, T., Kim, J., Kundaje, A., Quertermous, T. 2022; 145 (6): 469–485

  Abstract

  Background: Smooth muscle cells (SMC) transition into a number of different phenotypes during atherosclerosis, including those that resemble fibroblasts and chondrocytes, and make up the majority of cells in the atherosclerotic plaque. To better understand the epigenetic and transcriptional mechanisms that mediate these cell state changes, and how they relate to risk for coronary artery disease (CAD), we have investigated the causality and function of transcription factors (TFs) at genome wide associated loci. Methods: We employed CRISPR-Cas 9 genome and epigenome editing to identify the causal gene and cell(s) for a complex CAD GWAS signal at 2q22.3. Subsequently, single-cell epigenetic and transcriptomic profiling in murine models and human coronary artery smooth muscle cells were employed to understand the cellular and molecular mechanism by which this CAD risk gene exerts its function. Results: CRISPR-Cas 9 genome and epigenome editing showed that the complex CAD genetic signals within a genomic region at 2q22.3 lie within smooth muscle long-distance enhancers for ZEB2, a TF extensively studied in the context of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) in development and cancer. ZEB2 regulates SMC phenotypic transition through chromatin remodeling that obviates accessibility and disrupts both Notch and TGFβ signaling, thus altering the epigenetic trajectory of SMC transitions. SMC specific loss of ZEB2 resulted in an inability of transitioning SMCs to turn off contractile programing and take on a fibroblast-like phenotype, but accelerated the formation of chondromyocytes, mirroring features of high-risk atherosclerotic plaques in human coronary arteries. Conclusions: These studies identify ZEB2 as a new CAD GWAS gene that affects features of plaque vulnerability through direct effects on the epigenome, providing a new thereapeutic approach to target vascular disease.

  View details for DOI 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.057789

• Molecular mechanisms of coronary disease revealed using quantitative trait loci for TCF21 binding, chromatin accessibility, and chromosomal looping. Genome biology Zhao, Q. n., Dacre, M. n., Nguyen, T. n., Pjanic, M. n., Liu, B. n., Iyer, D. n., Cheng, P. n., Wirka, R. n., Kim, J. B., Fraser, H. B., Quertermous, T. n. 2020; 21 (1): 135

  Abstract

  To investigate the epigenetic and transcriptional mechanisms of coronary artery disease (CAD) risk, as well as the functional regulation of chromatin structure and function, we create a catalog of genetic variants associated with three stages of transcriptional cis-regulation in primary human coronary artery vascular smooth muscle cells (HCASMCs).We use a pooling approach with HCASMC lines to map regulatory variants that mediate binding of the CAD-associated transcription factor TCF21 with ChIPseq studies (bQTLs), variants that regulate chromatin accessibility with ATACseq studies (caQTLs), and chromosomal looping with Hi-C methods (clQTLs). We examine the overlap of these QTLs and their relationship to smooth muscle-specific genes and transcription factors. Further, we use multiple analyses to show that these QTLs are highly associated with CAD GWAS loci and correlate to lead SNPs where they show allelic effects. By utilizing genome editing, we verify that identified functional variants can regulate both chromatin accessibility and chromosomal looping, providing new insights into functional mechanisms regulating chromatin state and chromosomal structure. Finally, we directly link the disease-associated TGFB1-SMAD3 pathway to the CAD-associated FN1 gene through a response QTL that modulates both chromatin accessibility and chromosomal looping.Together, these studies represent the most thorough mapping of multiple QTL types in a highly disease-relevant primary cultured cell type and provide novel insights into their functional overlap and mechanisms that underlie these genomic features and their relationship to disease risk.

  View details for DOI 10.1186/s13059-020-02049-5

  View details for PubMedID 32513244

• The Environment-Sensing Aryl-Hydrocarbon Receptor Inhibits the Chondrogenic Fate of Modulated Smooth Muscle Cells in Atherosclerotic Lesions. Circulation Kim, J. B., Zhao, Q. n., Nguyen, T. n., Pjanic, M. n., Cheng, P. n., Wirka, R. n., Travisano, S. n., Nagao, M. n., Kundu, R. n., Quertermous, T. n. 2020

  Abstract

  Background: Smooth muscle cells (SMC) play a critical role in atherosclerosis. The Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is an environment-sensing transcription factor that contributes to vascular development, and has been implicated in coronary artery disease (CAD) risk. We hypothesized that AHR can affect atherosclerosis by regulating phenotypic modulation of SMC. Methods: We combined RNA-Seq, ChIP-Seq, ATAC-Seq and in-vitro assays in human coronary artery SMC (HCASMC), with single-cell RNA-Seq (scRNA-Seq), histology, and RNAscope in an SMC-specific lineage-tracing Ahr knockout mouse model of atherosclerosis to better understand the role of AHR in vascular disease. Results: Genomic studies coupled with functional assays in cultured HCASMC revealed that AHR modulates HCASMC phenotype and suppresses ossification in these cells. Lineage tracing and activity tracing studies in the mouse aortic sinus showed that the Ahr pathway is active in modulated SMC in the atherosclerotic lesion cap. Furthermore, scRNA-Seq studies of the SMC-specific Ahr knockout mice showed a significant increase in the proportion of modulated SMC expressing chondrocyte markers such as Col2a1 and Alpl, which localized to the lesion neointima. These cells, which we term "chondromyocytes" (CMC), were also identified in the neointima of human coronary arteries. In histological analyses, these changes manifested as larger lesion size, increased lineage-traced SMC participation in the lesion, decreased lineage-traced SMC in the lesion cap, and increased alkaline phosphatase activity in lesions in the Ahr knockout compared to wild-type mice. We propose that AHR is likely protective based on these data and inference from human genetic analyses. Conclusions: Overall, we conclude that AHR promotes maintenance of lesion cap integrity and diminishes the disease related SMC-to-CMC transition in atherosclerotic tissues.

  View details for DOI 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.045981

  View details for PubMedID 32441123

• Coronary Disease Associated Gene TCF21 Inhibits Smooth Muscle Cell Differentiation by Blocking the Myocardin-Serum Response Factor Pathway. Circulation research Nagao, M., Lyu, Q., Zhao, Q., Wirka, R. C., Bagga, J., Nguyen, T., Cheng, P., Kim, J. B., Pjanic, M., Miano, J. M., Quertermous, T. 2019

  Abstract

  Rationale: The gene encoding transcription factor TCF21 has been linked to coronary artery disease (CAD) risk by human genome wide association studies (GWAS) in multiple racial ethnic groups. In murine models, Tcf21 is required for phenotypic modulation of smooth muscle cells (SMC) in atherosclerotic tissues and promotes a fibroblast phenotype in these cells. In humans, TCF21 expression inhibits risk for CAD. The molecular mechanism by which TCF21 regulates SMC phenotype is not known. Objective: To better understand how TCF21 affects SMC phenotype, we sought to investigate the possible mechanisms by which it regulates the lineage determining myocardin (MYOCD)-serum response factor (SRF) pathway. Methods and Results: Modulation of TCF21 expression in HCASMC revealed that TCF21 suppresses a broad range of SMC markers, as well as key SMC transcription factors MYOCD and SRF, at the RNA and protein level. We conducted chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-sequencing to map SRF binding sites in HCASMC, showing that binding is colocalized in the genome with TCF21, including at a novel enhancer in the SRF gene, and at the MYOCD gene promoter. In vitro genome editing indicated that the SRF enhancer CArG box regulates transcription of the SRF gene, and mutation of this conserved motif in the orthologous mouse SRF enhancer revealed decreased SRF expression in aorta and heart tissues. Direct TCF21 binding and transcriptional inhibition at co-localized sites were established by reporter gene transfection assays. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and protein co-immunoprecipitation studies provided evidence that TCF21 blocks MYOCD and SRF association by direct TCF21-MYOCD interaction. Conclusions: These data indicate that TCF21 antagonizes the MYOCD-SRF pathway through multiple mechanisms, further establishing a role for this CAD associated gene in fundamental SMC processes and indicating the importance of smooth muscle response to vascular stress and phenotypic modulation of this cell type in CAD risk.

  View details for DOI 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.119.315968

  View details for PubMedID 31815603

• TCF21 and AP-1 interact through epigenetic modifications to regulate coronary artery disease gene expression. Genome medicine Zhao, Q. n., Wirka, R. n., Nguyen, T. n., Nagao, M. n., Cheng, P. n., Miller, C. L., Kim, J. B., Pjanic, M. n., Quertermous, T. n. 2019; 11 (1): 23

  Abstract

  Genome-wide association studies have identified over 160 loci that are associated with coronary artery disease. As with other complex human diseases, risk in coronary disease loci is determined primarily by altered expression of the causal gene, due to variation in binding of transcription factors and chromatin-modifying proteins that directly regulate the transcriptional apparatus. We have previously identified a coronary disease network downstream of the disease-associated transcription factor TCF21, and in work reported here extends these studies to investigate the mechanisms by which it interacts with the AP-1 transcription complex to regulate local epigenetic effects in these downstream coronary disease loci.Genomic studies, including chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing, RNA sequencing, and protein-protein interaction studies, were performed in human coronary artery smooth muscle cells.We show here that TCF21 and JUN regulate expression of two presumptive causal coronary disease genes, SMAD3 and CDKN2B-AS1, in part by interactions with histone deacetylases and acetyltransferases. Genome-wide TCF21 and JUN binding is jointly localized and particularly enriched in coronary disease loci where they broadly modulate H3K27Ac and chromatin state changes linked to disease-related processes in vascular cells. Heterozygosity at coronary disease causal variation, or genome editing of these variants, is associated with decreased binding of both JUN and TCF21 and loss of expression in cis, supporting a transcriptional mechanism for disease risk.These data show that the known chromatin remodeling and pioneer functions of AP-1 are a pervasive aspect of epigenetic control of transcription, and thus, the risk in coronary disease-associated loci, and that interaction of AP-1 with TCF21 to control epigenetic features, contributes to the genetic risk in loci where they co-localize.

  View details for PubMedID 31014396

• Coronary artery disease genes SMAD3 and TCF21 promote opposing interactive genetic programs that regulate smooth muscle cell differentiation and disease risk PLOS GENETICS Iyer, D., Zhao, Q., Wirka, R., Naravane, A., Trieu Nguyen, Liu, B., Nagao, M., Cheng, P., Miller, C. L., Kim, J., Pjanic, M., Quertermous, T. 2018; 14 (10)

  View details for DOI 10.1371/journal.pgen.1007681

  View details for Web of Science ID 000449328500019