H3.3B controls aortic dissection progression by regulating vascular smooth muscle cells phenotypic transition and vascular inflammation.

Aortic dissection is a devastating cardiovascular disease with a high lethality. Histone variants maintain the genomic integrity and play important roles in development and diseases. However, the role of histone variants in aortic dissection has not been well identified. In the present study, H3f3b knockdown reduced the synthetic genes expression of VSMCs, while overexpressing H3f3b exacerbated the cellular immune response of VSMCs induced by inflammatory cytokines. Combined RNA-seq and ChIP-seq analyses revealed that histone variant H3.3B directly bound to the genes related to extracellular matrix, VSMC synthetic phenotype, cytokine responses and TGFβ signaling pathway, and regulated their expressions. In addition, VSMC-specific H3f3b knockin aggravated aortic dissection development in mice, while H3f3b knockout significantly reduced the incidence of aortic dissection. In term of mechanisms, H3.3B regulated Spp1 and Ccl2 genes, inducing the apoptosis of VSMCs and recruiting macrophages. This study demonstrated the vital roles of H3.3B in phenotypic transition of VSMCs, loss of media VSMCs, and vascular inflammation in aortic dissection.