Logo

American Heart Association

  21
  0


Final ID: 4364135

A Cross-scale Causal Machine Learning Framework Pinpoints Mgl2+ Macrophage Orchestrators of Balanced Arterial Growth

Abstract Body (Do not enter title and authors here): Postnatal development requires precise coordination across molecular, cellular and tissue scales. However, existing methods often fail to resolve the causal hierarchies that underlie this coordination. Transcriptome-wide studies can identify trait-associated genes but cannot predict how gene expression changes propagate through gene–cell–tissue networks. Here, we present CausaLink, a cross-scale causal mapping framework that reconstructs directed networks by integrating transcriptomic and tissue biomechanical data. We applied it to the postnatal pulmonary arterial tissue remodeling, where a surge in arterial flow triggers conversion of low-flow conduits into high-flow conduits. Longitudinal single-cell and bulk transcriptomic profiling of proximal pulmonary artery (P2-P84) mapped dynamic vascular lineage transitions. Our analysis suggested a bifurcation of shared fibroblast–smooth muscle progenitor in the neonatal phase, initiating downstream shifts at both the cellular and tissue levels. In this context, CausaLink identified Mgl2+ macrophages as central regulators of balanced artery growth. Network-based, multi-trait simulation predicted Mgl2+ macrophages promote lumen expansion while preventing pathological wall thinning or thickening. We validated these predictions in a human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived arterial assembloid populated with MGLhigh macrophages. In this model, MGLhigh macrophages drove fibroblast expansion and coordinated tissue growth, as predicted. CausaLink enables systemic prediction across biological scales and offers a data-driven approach for therapeutic design in diseases involving disrupted tissue homeostasis.
  • Han, Jonghyeuk  ( Emory University , Atlanta , Georgia , United States )
  • Kong, Dasom  ( Ajou University , Suwon , Korea (the Republic of) )
  • Schwarz, Erica  ( Yale University , New Haven , Connecticut , United States )
  • Takaesu, Felipe  ( Emory University , Atlanta , Georgia , United States )
  • Humphrey, Jay  ( Yale University , New Haven , Connecticut , United States )
  • Park, Hyun-ji  ( Ajou University , Suwon , Korea (the Republic of) )
  • Davis, Michael E  ( Emory University , Atlanta , Georgia , United States )
  • Author Disclosures:
    Jonghyeuk Han: DO NOT have relevant financial relationships | Dasom Kong: No Answer | Erica Schwarz: No Answer | Felipe Takaesu: DO NOT have relevant financial relationships | Jay Humphrey: No Answer | Hyun-Ji Park: No Answer | Michael E Davis: No Answer
Meeting Info:

Scientific Sessions 2025

2025

New Orleans, Louisiana

Session Info:

Melvin L. Marcus Early Career Investigator Award in Cardiovascular Sciences Competition

Saturday, 11/08/2025 , 03:15PM - 04:30PM

Abstract Oral Session

More abstracts on this topic:
More abstracts from these authors:
Growth Arrest of Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm in Aged Marfan Mice

Weiss Dar, Mays Gavin, Means Colin, Yeung Nicola, Cavinato Cristina, Humphrey Jay

You have to be authorized to contact abstract author. Please, Login
Not Available