Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type R25 (LGMDR25) is caused by recessive mutations in BVES encoding a cAMP-binding protein, characterized by progressive muscular dystrophy with deteriorating muscle function and impaired cardiac conduction in patients. There is currently no therapeutic treatment for LGMDR25 patients. Here we report the efficacy and safety of recombinant adeno-associated virus 9 (AAV9)-mediated systemic delivery of human BVES driven by a muscle-specific promoter MHCK7 (AAV9.BVES) in BVES-knockout (BVES-KO) mice. AAV9.BVES efficiently transduced the cardiac and skeletal muscle tissues when intraperitoneally injected into neonatal BVES-KO mice. AAV9.BVES dramatically improved body weight gain, muscle mass, muscle strength, and exercise performance in BVES-KO mice regardless of sex. AAV9.BVES also significantly ameliorated the histopathological features of muscular dystrophy. The heart rate reduction was also normalized in BVES-KO mice under exercise-induced stress following systemic AAV9.BVES delivery. Moreover, intravenous AAV9.BVES administration into adult BVES-KO mice after the disease onset also resulted in substantial improvement in body weight, muscle mass, muscle contractility, and stress-induced heart rhythm abnormality. No obvious toxicity was detected. Taken together, these results provide the proof-of-concept evidence to support the AAV9.BVES gene therapy for LGMDR25.

The establishment of macromolecular complexes by scaffolding proteins is key to the local production of cAMP by anchored adenylyl cyclase (AC) and the subsequent cAMP signaling necessary for cardiac functions. We identify a novel AC scaffold, the Popeye domain-containing (POPDC) protein. The POPDC family of proteins is important for cardiac pacemaking and conduction, due in part to their cAMP-dependent binding and regulation of TREK-1 potassium channels. We show that TREK-1 binds the AC9:POPDC1 complex and copurifies in a POPDC1-dependent manner with AC9 activity in heart. Although the AC9:POPDC1 interaction is cAMP-independent, TREK-1 association with AC9 and POPDC1 is reduced upon stimulation of the β-adrenergic receptor (βAR). AC9 activity is required for βAR reduction of TREK-1 complex formation with AC9:POPDC1 and in reversing POPDC1 enhancement of TREK-1 currents. Finally, deletion of the gene-encoding AC9 (Adcy9) gives rise to bradycardia at rest and stress-induced heart rate variability, a milder phenotype than the loss of Popdc1 but similar to the loss of Kcnk2 (TREK-1). Thus, POPDC1 represents a novel adaptor for AC9 interactions with TREK-1 to regulate heart rate control.

POPDC1 also known as BVES, is a highly conserved transmembrane protein, important for striated muscle function and homeostasis. Pathogenic variants in the POPDC1 gene are associated with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 25 (LGMDR25). In the present study, we performed trio-whole exome sequencing (WES) followed by Sanger sequencing on a single family having LGMD clinical features. Protein modeling of all POPDC1 missense variants (POPDC1Pro134Leu , POPDC1Ile193Ser , and POPDC1Ser201Phe ) associated with LGMDR25 were performed using Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation. We identified a homozygous missense variant (c.401C>T; p.Pro134Leu) in the POPDC1 gene. Altered 3D structure, disruptive fluctuation, less compactness, and instability were observed in all the three variants of POPDC1 protein models. In comparison, POPDC1Ser201Phe protein dynamics were more unstable than other variants. Functional study of newly identified variant would add key answers to underlying mechanisms of the disease.

Tumor cells detachment from primary lesions is an early event for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) metastasis, in which cell adhesion molecules play an important role. The role of mechanical crowding has attracted increasing attention. Previous studies have found that overcrowding can induce live cells extrusion to maintain epithelial cell homeostasis, and normally, live extruded cells eventually die through a process termed anoikis, suggesting the potential of tumor cells resistant to anoikis might initiate metastasis from primary tumors by cell extrusion. We have demonstrated transmembrane adhesion molecule blood vessel epicardial substance (BVES) suppression as an early event in HCC metastasis. However, whether its suppression is involved in HCC cell extrusion, especially in HCC metastasis, remains unknown. This study aims to investigate the role of BVES in tumor cells extrusion in HCC metastasis, as well as the underlying mechanisms.
Cells extrusion was observed by silicone chamber, petri dish inversion, and three-dimensional cell culture model. Polymerase chain reaction, western blotting, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, co-immunoprecipitation, and RhoA activity assays were used to explore the underlying mechanisms of cell extrusion regulated by BVES. An orthotopic xenograft model was established to investigate the effects of BVES and cell extrusion in HCC metastasis in vivo.
Tumor cell extrusion was observed in HCC cells and tissues. BVES expression was decreased both in HCC and extruded tumor cells. BVES overexpression led to the decrease in HCC cells extrusion in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, our data showed that BVES co-localized with ZO-1 and GEFT, regulating ZO-1 expression and localization, and GEFT distribution, thus modulating RhoA activity.
The present study revealed that BVES downregulation in HCC enhanced tumor cells extrusion, thus promoting HCC metastasis, which contributed to a more comprehensive understanding of tumor metastasis, and provided clues for developing novel HCC therapy strategies. Video abstract.

OBJECTIVE: Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) plasticity is tightly associated with the pathological process of vasculopathy. Blood vessel epicardial substance (Bves) has emerged as an important regulator of intracardiac vasculogenesis and organ homeostasis. However, the involvement and role of Bves in VSMC plasticity and neointimal lesion development remain unclear.
METHODS: We used an in vivo rat model of graft arteriosclerosis and in vitro PDGF-treated VSMCs and identified the novel VSMC contractile phenotype-related gene Bves using a transcriptomic analysis and literature search. In vitro knockdown and overexpression approaches were used to investigate the mechanisms underlying VSMC phenotypic plasticity. In vivo, VSMC-specific Bves overexpression in rat aortic grafts was generated to assess the physiological function of Bves in neointimal lesion development.
RESULTS: Here, we found that Bves expression was negatively regulated in aortic allografts in vivo and PDGF-treated VSMCs in vitro. The genetic knockdown of Bves dramatically inhibited, whereas Bves overexpression markedly promoted, the VSMC contractile phenotype. Furthermore, RNA sequencing unraveled a positive correlation between Bves and dual-specificity protein phosphatase 1 (Dusp1) expression in VSMCs. We found that Bves knockdown restrained Dusp1 expression, but enhanced p38MAPK and ERK1/2 activation, resulting in the loss of the VSMC contractile phenotype. In vivo, an analysis of a rat graft model confirmed that VSMC-specific Bves and Dusp1 overexpression in aortic allografts significantly attenuated neointimal lesion formation.
CONCLUSIONS: Bves maintains the VSMC contractile phenotype through Dusp1-dependent p38MAPK and ERK1/2 signaling, and protects against neointimal formation, underscoring the important role of Bves in preventing transplant vasculopathy.

BACKGROUND: Anoctamin 5 (ANO5) is a membrane protein belonging to the TMEM16/Anoctamin family and its deficiency leads to the development of limb girdle muscular dystrophy R12 (LGMDR12). However, little has been known about the interactome of ANO5 and its cellular functions.
RESULTS: In this study, we exploited a proximal labeling approach to identify the interacting proteins of ANO5 in C2C12 myoblasts stably expressing ANO5 tagged with BioID2. Mass spectrometry identified 41 unique proteins including BVES and POPDC3 specifically from ANO5-BioID2 samples, but not from BioID2 fused with ANO6 or MG53. The interaction between ANO5 and BVES was further confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP), and the N-terminus of ANO5 mediated the interaction with the C-terminus of BVES. ANO5 and BVES were co-localized in muscle cells and enriched at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. Genome editing-mediated ANO5 or BVES disruption significantly suppressed C2C12 myoblast differentiation with little impact on proliferation.
CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these data suggest that BVES is a novel interacting protein of ANO5, involved in regulation of muscle differentiation.

Extensive research has uncovered diverse forms of synaptic plasticity and an array of molecular signaling mechanisms that act as positive or negative regulators. Specifically, cyclic 3\',5\'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent signaling pathways are crucially implicated in long-lasting synaptic plasticity. In this study, we examine the role of Popeye domain-containing protein 1 (POPDC1) (or blood vessel epicardial substance (BVES)), a cAMP effector protein, in modulating hippocampal synaptic plasticity. Unlike other cAMP effectors, such as protein kinase A (PKA) and exchange factor directly activated by cAMP, POPDC1 is membrane-bound and the sequence of the cAMP-binding cassette differs from canonical cAMP-binding domains, suggesting that POPDC1 may have an unique role in cAMP-mediated signaling. Our results show that Popdc1 is widely expressed in various brain regions including the hippocampus. Acute hippocampal slices from Popdc1 knockout (KO) mice exhibit PKA-dependent enhancement in CA1 long-term potentiation (LTP) in response to weaker stimulation paradigms, which in slices from wild-type mice induce only transient LTP. Loss of POPDC1, while not affecting basal transmission or input-specificity of LTP, results in altered response during high-frequency stimulation. Popdc1 KO mice also show enhanced forskolin-induced potentiation. Overall, these findings reveal POPDC1 as a novel negative regulator of hippocampal synaptic plasticity and, together with recent evidence for its interaction with phosphodiesterases (PDEs), suggest that POPDC1 is involved in modulating activity-dependent local cAMP-PKA-PDE signaling.

The underexpression of the long noncoding RNA blood vessel epicardial substance antisense RNA 1 (BVES-AS1) has been shown in colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) patients. However, its role in COAD remains to be explored. This study aimed to investigate the function and potential mechanism of BVES-AS1 in COAD. Colony formation, Cell Counting Kit-8, JC-1 mitochondrial membrane potential assay, wound healing, transwell, and western blot analyses were used to measure cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in COAD cells. RNA pull-down, luciferase reporter, and RNA binding protein immunoprecipitation assays were used to detect the interaction of BVES-AS1 and downstream genes. BVES-AS1 was expressed at low levels in COAD cells. Overexpressed BVES-AS1 inhibited COAD cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT while elevating cell apoptosis. Mechanistically, BVES-AS1 functioned as a competing endogenous RNA sponging miR-522-3p to regulate the expression of nearby gene blood vessel epicardial substance (BVES). Besides this, BVES-AS1 recruited TATA-box binding protein associated factor 15 (TAF15) to promote BVES messenger RNA stability. Taken together, our study confirmed that BVES-AS1 inhibited COAD progression via interacting with miR-522-3p and TAF15 to regulate BVES expression, which might offer a perspective for COAD treatment.

Background: Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) accounts for ∼10% of congenital heart disease cases. The blood vessel epicardial substance (BVES) gene has been reported to play a role in the function of adult hearts. However, whether allelic variants in BVES contribute to the risk of TOF and its possible mechanism remains unknown. Methods: The open reading frame of the BVES gene was sequenced using samples from 146 TOF patients and 100 unrelated healthy controls. qRT-PCR and western blot assays were used to confirm the expression of mutated BVES variants in the TOF samples. The online software Polyphen2 and SIFT were used to predict the deleterious effects of the observed allelic variants. The effects of these allelic variants on the transcriptional activities of genes were examined using dual-fluorescence reporter assays. Results: We genotyped four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the BVES gene from each of the 146 TOF patients. Among them, the minor allelic frequencies of c.385C>T (p.R129W) were 0.035% in TOF, but ∼0.025% in 100 controls and the Chinese Millionome Database. This allelic variant was predicted to be a potentially harmful alteration by the Polyphen2 and SIFT softwares. qRT-PCR and western blot analyses indicated that the expression of BVES in the six right ventricular outflow tract samples with the c.385C>T allelic variant was significantly downregulated. A dual-fluorescence reporter system showed that the c.385C>T allelic variant significantly decreased the transcriptional activity of the BVES gene and also decreased transcription from the GATA4 and NKX2.5 promoters. Conclusions: c.385C>T (p.R129W) is a functional SNP of the BVES gene that reduces the transcriptional activity of BVES in vitro and in vivo in TOF tissues. This subsequently affects the transcriptional activities of GATA4 and NKX2.5 related to TOF. These findings suggest that c.385C>T may be associated with the risk of TOF in the Han Chinese population.

Blood vessel epicardial substance (BVES) is a tight-junction associated protein that was originally discovered from a cDNA screen of the developing heart. Research over the last decade has shown that not only is BVES is expressed in cardiac and skeletal tissue, but BVES is also is expressed throughout the gastrointestinal epithelium. Mice lacking BVES sustain worse intestinal injury and inflammation. Furthermore, BVES is suppressed in gastrointestinal cancers, and mouse modeling has shown that loss of BVES promotes tumor formation. Recent work from multiple laboratories has revealed that BVES can regulate several molecular pathways, including cAMP, WNT, and promoting the degradation of the oncogene, c-Myc. This review will summarize our current understanding of how BVES regulates the intestinal epithelium and discuss how BVES functions at the molecular level to preserve epithelial phenotypes and suppress tumorigenesis.