Folic acid drives metabolic reprogramming to alleviate Toxoplasma gondii antigen-induced vascular injury

Interestingly, we found that prophylactic addition of folic acid (FA) appears to counteract all such effects, partially restoring vascular homeostasis. Previous studies on the protective effects of FA on blood vessels remains in its infancy. To reveal the mechanism of FA-mediated vasoprotective effects, we performed transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses.

The results show that T. gondii antigen disrupts several vital metabolic pathways crucial for vessel function. Significantly, FA alleviates these metabolic disorders. The protective effect of FA is associated with vascular metabolic reprogramming.

This study not only elucidates the mechanisms underlying T. gondii antigen-induced vascular injury, but also reveals a metabolic regulatory role of FA in vascular repair, which has potential value in clinical applications. Additionally, VOs derived from human stem cells are amenable systems for modelling and identifying the regulators and drugs of vascular injury.