Potential Targets of Cholesterol Crystal Embolism

Cholesterol crystal (CC) embolism is a severe complication of atherosclerosis, associated with high morbidity and mortality due to its ability to cause acute kidney injury (AKI) and ischemic cortical necrosis. We have established a CC embolism mouse model induced by CC injection. Using this model, we observed significant transcriptomic changes across 17 cell types in the kidneys, with specific upregulation of genes like Cda in the proximal tubular cells, suggesting its potential as an AKI biomarker. Single-cell sequencing revealed the central role of CCL and MIF pathways in CC embolism and identified CCR5 and CD74 as potential therapeutic targets. Overall design: Firstly, we established a cholesterol crystal embolism (CCE) mouse model induced by cholesterol crystal injection. Following the induction, kidneys from control and CCE mice were collected. Single-cell suspensions were prepared from the kidney tissues, and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) was performed using a large-scale platform (e.g., 10X Genomics) to analyze the transcriptomic changes across various cell types.