AUTHOR=Kwartler Callie S. , Wang Shanzhi , Zhou Zhen , Guan Pujun , Yu Yang , Duan Xue-Yan , Zhang Theodore , Chen Jiyuan , Davis Elaine C. , Milewicz Dianna M. 

TITLE=Inducing hypertension in Myh11R247C/R247C mice triggers aortic dissections with increased focal adhesion kinase signaling

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2025.1492768

DOI=10.3389/fcvm.2025.1492768

ISSN=2297-055X

ABSTRACT=ObjectiveWe sought to determine if hypertension in combination with a “variant of uncertain significance” that disrupts protein function, MYH11 p.Arg247Cys, would induce aortic dissections in a mouse model.Approach and resultsAdministration of L-NAME via drinking water and a high salt diet increased blood pressure in WT and Myh11R247C/R247C mice and triggered type A dissections with cardiac tamponade in 20% of the Myh11R247C/R247C mice. Myh11R247C/R247C aortas have aberrant smooth muscle contractile unit-elastin connections by transmission electron microscopy, along with increased focal adhesion signaling at baseline, which further increases with hypertension.ConclusionGene-environment interactions trigger aortic dissections in Myh11R247C/R247C mice.