Hyperlipidemia-induced hematopoiesis is repressed by MLKL in endothelial cells of the splenic niche.

Dysregulation of the hematopoietic niche during hyperlipidemia facilitates pathologic leukocyte production, driving atherogenesis. Although definitive hematopoiesis occurs primarily in the bone marrow, during atherosclerosis this also occurs in the spleen. Cells of the bone marrow niche, particularly endothelial cells, have been studied in atherosclerosis, although little is known about how splenic endothelial cells respond to the atherogenic environment.

Mitochondrial Fragmentation Promotes Inflammation Resolution Responses in Macrophages via Histone Lactylation.

During the inflammatory response, macrophage phenotypes can be broadly classified as pro-inflammatory/classically activated "M1", or pro-resolving/alternatively "M2" macrophages. Although the classification of macrophages is general and assumes there are distinct phenotypes, in reality macrophages exist across a spectrum and must transform from a pro-inflammatory state to a proresolving state following an inflammatory insult. To adapt to changing metabolic needs of the cell, mitochondria undergo fusion and fission, which have important implications for cell fate and function.

ATF2 orchestrates macrophage differentiation and activation to promote antibacterial responses.

The differentiation and activation of macrophages are critical regulatory programs that are central to host inflammation and pathogen defense. However, the transcriptional regulatory pathways involved in these programs are not well understood. Herein, we demonstrate that the activity and expression of the transcription factor ATF2 is precisely regulated during primary human monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation and that its activation is linked to M1 polarization and antibacterial responses.

miR-223 Exerts Translational Control of Proatherogenic Genes in Macrophages.

Background: A significant burden of atherosclerotic disease is driven by inflammation. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as important factors driving and protecting from atherosclerosis. miR-223 regulates cholesterol metabolism and inflammation via targeting both cholesterol biosynthesis pathway and NFB signaling pathways; however, its role in atherosclerosis has not been investigated.

Autophagy Is Differentially Regulated in Leukocyte and Nonleukocyte Foam Cells During Atherosclerosis.

Rationale: Atherosclerosis is characterized by an accumulation of foam cells within the arterial wall, resulting from excess cholesterol uptake and buildup of cytosolic lipid droplets (LDs). Autophagy promotes LD clearance by freeing stored cholesterol for efflux, a process that has been shown to be atheroprotective. While the role of autophagy in LD catabolism has been studied in macrophage-derived foam cells, this has remained unexplored in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC)-derived foam cells that constitute a large fraction of foam cells within atherosclerotic lesions.

Expression Associates With Inflammation in Early Atherosclerosis in Humans and Can Be Therapeutically Silenced to Reduce NF-κB Activation and Atherogenesis in Mice.

Background: Chronic activation of the innate immune system drives inflammation and contributes directly to atherosclerosis. We previously showed that macrophages in the atherogenic plaque undergo RIPK3 (receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 3)-MLKL (mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein)-dependent programmed necroptosis in response to sterile ligands such as oxidized low-density lipoprotein and damage-associated molecular patterns and that necroptosis is active in advanced atherosclerotic plaques. Upstream of the RIPK3-MLKL necroptotic machinery lies RIPK1 (receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 1), which acts as a master switch that controls whether the cell undergoes NF-κB (nuclear factor κ-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells)-dependent inflammation, caspase-dependent apoptosis, or necroptosis in response to extracellular stimuli.

Publisher Correction: RIPK1 gene variants associate with obesity in humans and can be therapeutically silenced to reduce obesity in mice.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

RIPK1 gene variants associate with obesity in humans and can be therapeutically silenced to reduce obesity in mice.

Obesity is a major public health burden worldwide and is characterized by chronic low-grade inflammation driven by the cooperation of the innate immune system and dysregulated metabolism in adipose tissue and other metabolic organs. Receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) is a central regulator of inflammatory cell function that coordinates inflammation, apoptosis and necroptosis in response to inflammatory stimuli. Here we show that genetic polymorphisms near the human RIPK1 locus associate with increased RIPK1 gene expression and obesity.

Loss of MLKL (Mixed Lineage Kinase Domain-Like Protein) Decreases Necrotic Core but Increases Macrophage Lipid Accumulation in Atherosclerosis.

Objectives: During the advancement of atherosclerosis, plaque cellularity is governed by the influx of monocyte-derived macrophages and their turnover via apoptotic and nonapoptotic forms of cell death. Previous reports have demonstrated that programmed necrosis, or necroptosis, of plaque macrophages contribute to necrotic core formation. Knockdown or inhibition of the necrosome components RIPK1 (receptor-interacting protein kinase 1) and RIPK3 (receptor-interacting protein kinase 3) slow atherogenesis, and activation of the terminal step of necroptosis, MLKL (mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein), has been demonstrated in advanced human atherosclerotic plaques.

Delivery of MicroRNAs by Chitosan Nanoparticles to Functionally Alter Macrophage Cholesterol Efflux in Vitro and in Vivo.

The prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) has largely focused on lowering circulating LDL cholesterol, yet a significant burden of atherosclerotic disease remains even when LDL is low. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as exciting therapeutic targets for cardiovascular disease. miRNAs are small noncoding RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression by degradation or translational inhibition of target mRNAs.

Extracellular Vesicles Secreted by Atherogenic Macrophages Transfer MicroRNA to Inhibit Cell Migration.

Objective: During inflammation, macrophages secrete vesicles carrying RNA, protein, and lipids as a form of extracellular communication. In the vessel wall, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been shown to be transferred between vascular cells during atherosclerosis; however, the role of macrophage-derived EVs in atherogenesis is not known. Here, we hypothesize that atherogenic macrophages secrete microRNAs (miRNAs) in EVs to mediate cell-cell communication and promote proinflammatory and proatherogenic phenotypes in recipient cells.

Paradoxical Suppression of Atherosclerosis in the Absence of microRNA-146a.

Rationale: Inflammation is a key contributor to atherosclerosis. MicroRNA-146a (miR-146a) has been identified as a critical brake on proinflammatory nuclear factor κ light chain enhancer of activated B cells signaling in several cell types, including endothelial cells and bone marrow (BM)-derived cells. Importantly, miR-146a expression is elevated in human atherosclerotic plaques, and polymorphisms in the precursor have been associated with risk of coronary artery disease.

The Keap1-Nrf2 Stress Response Pathway Promotes Mitochondrial Hyperfusion Through Degradation of the Mitochondrial Fission Protein Drp1.

Aims: Mitochondrial function is coupled to metabolic and survival pathways through both direct signaling cascades and dynamic changes in mitochondrial morphology. For example, a hyperfused mitochondrial reticulum is activated upon cellular stress and is protective against cell death. As part of a genome-wide small inhibitory ribonucleic acid screen, we identified the central redox regulator, Keap1, as a novel regulator of mitochondrial morphology.

Targeting macrophage necroptosis for therapeutic and diagnostic interventions in atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis results from maladaptive inflammation driven primarily by macrophages, whose recruitment and proliferation drive plaque progression. In advanced plaques, macrophage death contributes centrally to the formation of plaque necrosis, which underlies the instability that promotes plaque rupture and myocardial infarction. Hence, targeting macrophage cell death pathways may offer promise for the stabilization of vulnerable plaques.

Therapeutic Inhibition of miR-33 Promotes Fatty Acid Oxidation but Does Not Ameliorate Metabolic Dysfunction in Diet-Induced Obesity.

Objective: miR-33 has emerged as an important regulator of lipid homeostasis. Inhibition of miR-33 has been demonstrated as protective against atherosclerosis; however, recent studies in mice suggest that miR-33 inhibition may have adverse effects on lipid and insulin metabolism. Given the therapeutic interest in miR-33 inhibitors for treating atherosclerosis, we sought to test whether pharmacologically inhibiting miR-33 at atheroprotective doses affected metabolic parameters in a mouse model of diet-induced obesity.

IRF2BP2 Reduces Macrophage Inflammation and Susceptibility to Atherosclerosis.

Rationale: Inflammation impairs macrophage cholesterol clearance from vascular tissues and promotes atherosclerosis. Inflammatory macrophages suppress expression of the transcription cofactor interferon regulatory factor 2-binding protein 2 (IRF2BP2), and genetic variants near IRF2BP2 associate with ischemic heart disease progression in humans.

Objectives: To test whether IRF2BP2 in macrophages affects atherosclerosis in mice and humans.

Macrophage Mitochondrial Energy Status Regulates Cholesterol Efflux and Is Enhanced by Anti-miR33 in Atherosclerosis.

Rationale: Therapeutically targeting macrophage reverse cholesterol transport is a promising approach to treat atherosclerosis. Macrophage energy metabolism can significantly influence macrophage phenotype, but how this is controlled in foam cells is not known. Bioinformatic pathway analysis predicts that miR-33 represses a cluster of genes controlling cellular energy metabolism that may be important in macrophage cholesterol efflux.

Differential effects of glyoxalase 1 overexpression on diabetic atherosclerosis and renal dysfunction in streptozotocin-treated, apolipoprotein E-deficient mice.

The reactive dicarbonyls, glyoxal and methylglyoxal (MG), increase in diabetes and may participate in the development of diabetic complications. Glyoxal and MG are detoxified by the sequential activities of glyoxalase 1 (GLO1) and glyoxalase 2. To determine the contribution of these dicarbonyls to the etiology of complications, we have genetically manipulated GLO1 levels in apolipoprotein E-null (Apoe(-/-)) mice.

Netrin-1 promotes adipose tissue macrophage retention and insulin resistance in obesity.

During obesity, macrophage accumulation in adipose tissue propagates the chronic inflammation and insulin resistance associated with type 2 diabetes. The factors, however, that regulate the accrual of macrophages in adipose tissue are not well understood. Here we show that the neuroimmune guidance cue netrin-1 is highly expressed in obese but not lean adipose tissue of humans and mice, where it directs the retention of macrophages.

Glyoxalase-1 overexpression in bone marrow cells reverses defective neovascularization in STZ-induced diabetic mice.

Aims: Methylglyoxal (MG) accumulates in diabetes and impairs neovascularization. This study assessed whether overexpressing the MG-metabolizing enzyme glyoxalase-1 (GLO1) in only bone marrow cells (BMCs) could restore neovascularization in ischaemic tissue of streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice.

Methods And Results: After 24 h of hyperglycaemic and hypoxic culture, BMCs from GLO1 overexpressing and wild-type (WT) diabetic mice were compared for migratory potential, viability, and mRNA expression of anti-apoptotic genes (Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL).

Knockdown of glyoxalase 1 mimics diabetic nephropathy in nondiabetic mice.

Differences in susceptibility to diabetic nephropathy (DN) between mouse strains with identical levels of hyperglycemia correlate with renal levels of oxidative stress, shown previously to play a central role in the pathogenesis of DN. Susceptibility to DN appears to be genetically determined, but the critical genes have not yet been identified. Overexpression of the enzyme glyoxalase 1 (Glo1), which prevents posttranslational modification of proteins by the glycolysis-derived α-oxoaldehyde, methylglyoxal (MG), prevents hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress in cultured cells and model organisms.

The intracellular redox state is a core determinant of mitochondrial fusion.

Mitochondrial hyperfusion has recently been shown to function as a cellular stress response, providing transient protection against apoptosis and mitophagy. However, the mechanisms that mediate this response remain poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrate that oxidized glutathione (GSSG), the core cellular stress indicator, strongly induces mitochondrial fusion.

Glycation of LDL by methylglyoxal increases arterial atherogenicity: a possible contributor to increased risk of cardiovascular disease in diabetes.

Objective: To study whether modification of LDL by methylglyoxal (MG), a potent arginine-directed glycating agent that is increased in diabetes, is associated with increased atherogenicity.

Research Design And Methods: Human LDL was isolated and modified by MG in vitro to minimal extent (MG(min)-LDL) as occurs in vivo. Atherogenic characteristics of MG(min)-LDL were characterized: particle size, proteoglycan-binding, susceptibility to aggregation, LDL and non-LDL receptor-binding, and aortal deposition.

A mouse monoclonal antibody specific for mouse apoB48 and apoB100 produced by immunizing "apoB39-only" mice with mouse apoB48.

We have generated and characterized a murine monoclonal antibody (mAb) that binds to both mouse apolipoprotein (apo) B48 and apoB100. We immunized "apoB39-only" mice (mice that synthesize a truncated form of apoB, apoB39, but no apoB48 or apoB100) with lipoproteins containing mouse apoB48 and then used splenocytes from the immunized mice to create hybridomas. We identified a hybridoma, 2G11, that secretes a mAb that binds to mouse apoB48 and apoB100 but not to apoB39.