Functional spatial omics analysis of acute myocardial infarction in mice

• Applicant: Dr. Florian Wuennemann
• Subject Area: Cardiology, Angiology ; Bioinformatics and Theoretical Biology ; Cell Biology
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 516668179

Myocardial infarction (MI) is the most common cardiovascular disease worldwide. Data from single-cell studies has provided important insights into the responses of different cell types to MI. Despite this progress, our understanding of the complex interplay between diverse immune and cardiac cell types in the early, inflammatory stages of acute MI is still very limited. The goal of this proposal is to establish spatial omics technologies in a novel, minimally-invasive model of myocardial infarction. We will utilise highly multiplexed imaging in combination with spatial transcriptomics to build a spatial map of immune cell infiltration routes during the early inflammatory phase of murine MI. Specifically, we will employ Imaging Mass Cytometry (IMC) to enable heart tissue imaging without autofluorescence. Building upon this reference data set, we will compare the effects of statins on the inflammatory response and the immune cell infiltration routes in a mouse model for hypercholesterolemia (Apoe-/-). Finally, we will combine these high-dimensional spatial data across experiments and cohorts, to identify the cellular composition, neighborhoods and states during acute MI and translate our findings to tissue samples from human acute MI.

• DFG Programme: WBP Position