Spatiotemporal transcriptome analysis reveals critical roles for mechano-sensing genes at the border zone in remodeling after myocardial infarction

The underlying mechanisms of ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction (MI) remain largely unknown. Here, we performed an integrative analysis of spatial transcriptomics and single-nucleus RNA-seq in a murine MI model and found that mechanical stress-response genes are expressed at the border zone and play a critical role in left ventricular remodeling following MI. An integrative analysis of single-nucleus RNA-seq and spatial transcriptome of the heart tissue after MI identified the unique cluster that appeared at the border zone in an early stage, highly expressing mechano-sensing genes such as Csrp3. AAV9-mediated gene silencing and overexpression of Csrp3 demonstrated that upregulation of Csrp3 plays critical roles in preventing cardiac remodeling after MI via regulation of genes associated with mechano-sensing. Overall, our study not only provides an insight into spatiotemporal molecular changes following MI but also highlights that the mechano-sensing genes at the border zone act as adaptive regulators of left ventricular remodeling.