Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42864323›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Endothelial cell-microglia crosstalk mediates heart failure-associated synaptic loss and cognitive impairment in male mice.

Mengdan Wang, Xiaoxuan Yu, Tursunjan Aziz, Shiyao Zhang, Xiao Wu, Weiyin Wu, Yan Wang, Gang Li, Shuo Zhang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Mengdan Wang *Branch of National Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
Xiaoxuan Yu *Nanjing Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. xxyu@njucm.edu.cn.ORCID 0000-0002-6422-5159
Tursunjan Aziz *State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Shiyao Zhang *Branch of National Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen, Fujian, China.ORCID 0009-0007-0929-4235
Xiao WuBranch of National Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
Weiyin WuBranch of National Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
Yan WangBranch of National Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen, Fujian, China. wy@medmail.com.cn.ORCID 0000-0001-9976-848X
Gang LiBranch of National Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen, Fujian, China. ligang@xmu.edu.cn.ORCID 0000-0003-3875-2112
Shuo ZhangBranch of National Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen, Fujian, China. shuozhang@xmu.edu.cn.ORCID 0009-0001-6966-0918

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cognitive impairment affects 30%-80% of patients with heart failure, yet the mechanisms beyond reduced brain blood flow remain poorly defined. Here we show that circulating factors released during heart failure trigger senescence of brain blood-vessel endothelial cells, which in turn drives synaptic loss and cognitive decline through crosstalk between endothelial cells and microglia, the brain's immune cells. Using a pressure-overload model (transverse aortic constriction) combined with plasma transfer in 8-month-old male mice, we found that elevated circulating TGFβ2 acts on endothelial TGFBR2 and induces the secreted protein SPARC via a non-canonical MEK/ERK-MYC pathway. Endothelial SPARC then activates microglial TLR4, promoting neuroinflammation and abnormal engulfment of synapses. Endothelial deletion of Tgfbr2 or Sparc, and microglial deletion of Tlr4, each preserved synapses and improved cognition, and pharmacological Tlr4 inhibition was protective. These findings define an endothelial-microglia signaling axis and a potential therapeutic target in heart failure-associated cognitive impairment.

Indexed as

Cognitive DysfunctionEndothelial CellsHeart FailureMicrogliaSynapsesAnimalsBrainDisease Models, AnimalHumansMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLMice, KnockoutReceptor, Transforming Growth Factor-beta Type IISignal TransductionToll-Like Receptor 4Receptor, Transforming Growth Factor-beta Type IITgfbr2 protein, mouseTlr4 protein, mouseToll-Like Receptor 4

Identifiers

PMID42864323
PMCPMC13658225

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.