Single-cell transcriptomic analysis reveals the molecular alterations of endothelial cells during ageing

Ageing of the vasculature is the fundamental cause for the development of cardiovascular diseases. Endothelial cells play an important role in ageing of the cardiovascular system, but the potential mechanisms of vascular ageing and the molecular changes of endothelial cells during ageing remain unclear. Here, we analyzed the cellular and molecular alterations of endothelial cells in young and aged aortas using single-cell transcriptome analysis. We identified 191 up-regulated genes and 282 down-regulated genes between old and young group. We found that most of the down-regulated genes were mainly enriched in normal biological pathways and some stress response pathways. Protein-protein interaction and transcription factor analysis revealed that AP-1 and Egr1 might be the key transcription factors related to vascular ageing. We proposed that ageing is resulted from the gradual loss of normal functional genes. Our research provides new ideas for further understanding the mechanism of ageing.