Background Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the leading cause of heart failure with a poor prognosis. Recent studies suggest that endothelial to mesenchymal transition (EndMT) may be involved in the pathogenesis and cardiac remodeling during DCM development. EDIL3 (epidermal growth factor‐like repeats and discoidin I‐like domains 3) is an extracellular matrix glycoprotein that has been reported to promote EndMT in various diseases. However, the roles of EDIL3 in DCM still remain unclear. Methods and Results A mouse model of DCM and human umbilical vein endothelial cells were used to explore the roles and mechanisms of EDIL3 in DCM. The results indicated that EndMT and EDIL3 were activated in DCM mice. EDIL3 deficiency attenuated cardiac dysfunction and remodeling in DCM mice. EDIL3 knockdown alleviated EndMT by inhibiting USP10 (ubiquitin specific peptidase 10) dependent Smad4 deubiquitination in vivo and in vitro. Recombinant human EDIL3 promoted EndMT via reinforcing deubiquitination of Smad4 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells treated with IL‐1β (interleukin 1β) and TGF‐β (transforming growth factor beta). Inhibiting USP10 abolished EndMT exacerbated by EDIL3. In addition, recombinant EDIL3 also aggravates doxorubicin‐induced EndMT by promoting Smad4 deubiquitination in HUVECs. Conclusions Taken together, these results indicate that EDIL3 deficiency attenuated EndMT by inhibiting USP10 dependent Smad4 deubiquitination in DCM mice.
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