scholarly journals IFN-γ Primes Intact Human Coronary Arteries and Cultured Coronary Smooth Muscle Cells to Double-Stranded RNA- and Self-RNA–Induced Inflammatory Responses by Upregulating TLR3 and Melanoma Differentiation-Associated Gene 5

2010 ◽  
Vol 185 (2) ◽  
pp. 1283-1294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Usman Ahmad ◽  
Rahmat Ali ◽  
Amir H. Lebastchi ◽  
Lingfeng Qin ◽  
Sheng-fu L. Lo ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 1130
Author(s):  
Chih-Wei Chiu ◽  
Chih-Hao Yang ◽  
Jie-Heng Tsai ◽  
Cheng-Ying Hsieh ◽  
Shih-Yi Huang

Inflammation of the arterial wall is critical to atherosclerosis pathogenesis. The switch of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) to macrophage-like cells is essential in the exacerbation of vascular inflammation. Platonin, a cyanine photosensitizing dye, exhibits protective effects in sepsis, trauma, and acute ischemic stroke through its anti-inflammatory capacity in macrophages. The present study investigated the effects and underlying mechanisms of platonin in inflammatory VSMCs. Pretreatment with platonin suppressed the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthetase and mature interleukin-1β but not that of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in VSMCs stimulated by a combination of lipopolysaccharide and interferon-γ (LPS/IFN-γ). Furthermore, platonin inhibited LPS/IFN-γ-induced Nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) activation though the direct reduction of p65Ser536 phosphorylation but not the restoration of Inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa B (IκBα) degradation in VSMCs. However, platonin inhibited Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-induced MCP-1 production, possibly through the attenuation of Activator protein 1 (AP-1) binding activity and C-Jun N-terminal kinases ½ (JNK1/2) phosphorylation. Platonin also lowered lipid drop accumulation in VSMCs in Oil red O staining assay. The results collectively indicated that platonin has a vascular protective property with potent anti-inflammatory effects in VSMCs. In conclusion, platonin should be a potential for treating vascular inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis.


2014 ◽  
Vol 307 (2) ◽  
pp. H134-H142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Praveen Shukla ◽  
Srinivas Ghatta ◽  
Nidhi Dubey ◽  
Caleb O. Lemley ◽  
Mary Lynn Johnson ◽  
...  

The mechanisms underlying developmental programming are poorly understood but may be associated with adaptations by the fetus in response to changes in the maternal environment during pregnancy. We hypothesized that maternal nutrient restriction during pregnancy alters vasodilator responses in fetal coronary arteries. Pregnant ewes were fed a control [100% U.S. National Research Council (NRC)] or nutrient-restricted (60% NRC) diet from days 50 to 130 of gestation (term = 145 days); fetal tissues were collected at day 130. In coronary arteries isolated from control fetal lambs, relaxation to bradykinin was unaffected by nitro-l-arginine (NLA). Iberiotoxin or contraction with KCl abolished the NLA-resistant response to bradykinin. In fetal coronary arteries from nutrient-restricted ewes, relaxation to bradykinin was fully suppressed by NLA. Large-conductance, calcium-activated potassium channel (BKCa) currents did not differ in coronary smooth muscle cells from control and nutrient-restricted animals. The BKCa openers, BMS 191011 and NS1619, and 14,15-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid [a putative endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF)] each caused fetal coronary artery relaxation and BKCa current activation that was unaffected by maternal nutrient restriction. Expression of BKCa-channel subunits did not differ in fetal coronary arteries from control or undernourished ewes. The results indicate that maternal undernutrition during pregnancy results in loss of the EDHF-like pathway in fetal coronary arteries in response to bradykinin, an effect that cannot be explained by a decreased number or activity of BKCa channels or by decreased sensitivity to mediators that activate BKCa channels in vascular smooth muscle cells. Under these conditions, bradykinin-induced relaxation is completely dependent on nitric oxide, which may represent an adaptive response to compensate for the absence of the EDHF-like pathway.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weronika Karle ◽  
Samuel Becker ◽  
Philipp Stenzel ◽  
Christoph Knosalla ◽  
Günter Siegel ◽  
...  

Promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML) is a constitutive component of PML nuclear bodies (PML-NBs), which function as stress-regulated SUMOylation factories. Since PML can also act as a regulator of the inflammatory and fibroproliferative responses characteristic of atherosclerosis, we investigated whether PML is implicated in this disease. Immunoblotting, ELISA and immunohistochemistry showed a strong up-regulation of PML in segments of human atherosclerotic coronary arteries compared to non-atherosclerotic ones. In particular, PML was concentrated in PML-NBs from alpha-smooth muscle actin-immunoreactive cells in plaque areas. To identify possible functional consequences of PML-accumulation in this cell-type, differentiated human coronary artery smooth muscle cells (dHCASMCs) were transfected with a vector containing the intact PML-gene. These PML-transfected HCASMCs showed higher levels of SUMO-1-dependent SUMOylated proteins, but lower levels of markers for smooth muscle cell differentiation and revealed more proliferation and migration activities than dHCASMCs transfected with the vector lacking a specific gene insert or with the vector containing a mutated PML-gene coding for a PML-form without SUMOylation activity. When dHCASMCs were incubated with different cytokines, higher PML-levels were observed only after IFN-γ stimulation, while the expression of differentiation markers decreased. However, these phenotypic changes were not observed in dHCASMCs treated with small interfering RNA (siRNA) suppressing PML-expression prior to IFN-γ stimulation. Taken together, our results imply that PML is a previously unknown functional factor in the molecular cascades associated with the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and is positioned in vascular smooth muscle cells between up-stream IFN-γ activation and downstream SUMOylation.


Angiology ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukio Kishi ◽  
Toshiyuki Oniki ◽  
Takashi Ashikaga ◽  
Fujio Numano

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Li ◽  
Lei Cao ◽  
Cang-Bao Xu ◽  
Jun-Jie Wang ◽  
Yong-Xiao Cao

Minimally modified low-density lipoprotein (mmLDL) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The present study investigated the effects of mmLDL on the expression of endothelin type A () receptors in coronary arteries. Rat coronary arteries were organ-cultured for 24 h. The contractile responses were recorded using a myographic system. receptor mRNA and protein expressions were determined using real-time PCR and western blotting, respectively. The results showed that organ-culturing in the presence of mmLDL enhanced the arterial contractility mediated by the receptor in a concentration-dependent and time-dependent manner. Culturing with mmLDL (10 μg/mL) for 24 h shifted the concentration-contractile curves toward the left significantly with increased of from control of and significantly increased receptor mRNA and protein levels. Inhibition of the protein kinase C, extracellular signal-related kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), or NF-κB activities significantly attenuated the effects of mmLDL. The c-Jun N-terminal kinase inhibitor or the p38 pathway inhibitor, however, had no such effects. The results indicate that mmLDL upregulates the receptors in rat coronary arterial smooth muscle cells mainlyviaactivating protein kinase C, ERK1/2, and the downstream transcriptional factor, NF-κB.


Stroke ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mieko Oka ◽  
Nobuhiko Ohno ◽  
Takakazu Kawamata ◽  
Tomohiro Aoki

Introduction: Intracranial aneurysm (IA) affects 1 to 5 % in general public and becomes the primary cause of subarachnoid hemorrhage, the most severe form of stroke. However, currently, no drug therapy is available for IAs to prevent progression and rupture of lesions. Elucidation of mechanisms underlying the disease is thus mandatory. Considering the important role of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in the maintenance of stiffness of arterial walls and also in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis via mediating inflammatory responses, we in the present study analyzed morphological or phenotypical changes of SMCs during the disease development in the lesions. Methods: We subjected rats to an IA model in which lesions are induced by increase of hemodynamic force loading on intracranial arterial bifurcations and performed histopathological analyses of induced lesions including the electron microscopic examination. We then immunostained specimens from induced lesions to explore factors responsible for dedifferentiation or migration of SMCs. In vitro study was also done to examine effect of some candidate factors on dedifferentiation or migration of cultured SMCs. Results: We first found the accumulation of SMCs underneath the endothelial cell layer mainly at the neck portion of the lesion. These cells was positive for the embryonic form of myosin heavy chain, a marker for the dedifferentiated SMCs, and the expression of pro-inflammatory factors like TNF-α. In immunostaining to explore the potential factor regulating the dedifferentiation of SMCs, we found that Platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) was expressed in endothelial cells at the neck portion of IA walls. Consistently, recombinant PDGF-BB could promote the dedifferentiate of SMCs and chemo-attracted them in in vitro. Finally, in the stenosis model of the carotid artery, PDGF-BB expression was induced in endothelial cells in which high wall shear stress was loaded and the dedifferentiation of SMCs occurred there. Conclusions: The findings from the present study imply the role of dedifferentiated SMCs partially recruited by PDGF-BB from endothelial cells in the formation of inflammatory microenvironment at the neck portion of IA walls, leading to the progression of the disease.


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