Age-Related Decline in NCKX4-Mediated Calcium Clearance Accelerates Aortic Remodeling and Drives Early Vascular Aging

Aging is the strongest risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), with older women facing a greater risk of CVDs than age-matched men. Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) dysfunction and impaired calcium (Ca²⁺) handling are recognized as central contributors to arterial stiffening and calcification. However, the molecular and functional determinants of Ca²⁺ clearance that drive vascular aging remains unclear. This study investigated the function of the potassium-dependent sodium/calcium exchanger NCKX4 in VSMCs from aortic tissue, and its pathogenesis underlying the development of vascular ageing, aortic remodeling, and calcification processes. For the study, RNA sequencing was performed on aortic tissue from young (12-15 weeks) and aged (72-78 weeks) female wild-type C57BL/6 mice and knockdown Nckx4-/- mice. The aortic tissue from two different mice was combined for each sample, totalling five samples (n = 5). This dataset includes RNA sequencing data.