Project description:The Caspase activation and recruitment domain 8 (CARD8) protein is a component of innate immunity and overexpression of CARD8 mRNA was previously identified in atherosclerosis. However, very little is known about the regulation of CARD8 in endothelial cells and atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to investigate CARD8 in the regulation of cytokine and chemokine expression in endothelial cells. Sections of human atherosclerotic lesions and non-atherosclerotic arteries were immunostained for CARD8 protein. Expression of CARD8 was correlated to mediators of inflammation in atherosclerotic lesions using Biobank of Karolinska Endarterectomies microarray data. The CARD8 mRNA was knocked-down in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro, followed by quantitative RT-PCR analysis and OLINK Proteomics. Endothelial and smooth muscle cells in arterial tissue expressed CARD8 and CARD8 correlated with vWF, CD163 and the expression of inflammatory genes, such as CXCL1, CXCL6 and PDGF-A in plaque. Knock-down of CARD8 in HUVECs significantly altered proteins involved in inflammatory response, such as CXCL1, CXCL6, PDGF-A, MCP-1 and IL-6. The present study suggest that CARD8 regulate the expression of cytokines and chemokines in endothelial cells and atherosclerotic lesions, suggesting that CARD8 plays a significant role in endothelial activation.
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Project description:Bone morphogenetic proteins (Bmps) are important mediators of inflammation and atherosclerosis, though their mechanism of action is not fully understood. To better understand the contribution of the Bmp signaling pathway in vascular inflammation, we investigated the role of Bmper (Bmp endothelial cell precursor-derived regulator), an extracellular Bmp modulator, in an induced in vivo model of inflammation and atherosclerosis.We crossed apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE(-/-)) mice with mice missing 1 allele of Bmper (Bmper(+/-) mice used in the place of Bmper(-/-) mice that die at birth) and measured the development of atherosclerosis in mice fed a high-fat diet. Bmper haploinsufficiency in ApoE(-/-) mice (Bmper(+/-);ApoE(-/-) mice) led to a more severe phenotype compared with Bmper(+/+);ApoE(-/-) mice. Bmper(+/-);ApoE(-/-) mice also exhibited increased Bmp activity in the endothelial cells in both the greater and lesser curvatures of the aortic arch, suggesting a role for Bmper in regulating Bmp-mediated inflammation associated with laminar and oscillatory shear stress. Small interfering RNA knockdown of Bmper in human umbilical vein endothelial cells caused a dramatic increase in the inflammatory markers intracellular adhesion molecule 1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 at rest and after exposure to oscillatory and laminar shear stress.We conclude that Bmper is a critical regulator of Bmp-mediated vascular inflammation and that the fine-tuning of Bmp and Bmper levels is essential in the maintenance of normal vascular homeostasis.
Project description:ANRIL has long been considered as the strongest candidate gene at the 9p21 locus, robustly associated with stroke and coronary artery disease. However, the underlying molecular mechanism remains unknown. The present study works to elucidate such a mechanism.Using expression quantitative loci analysis, we identified potential genes whose expression may be influenced by genetic variation in ANRIL. To verify the identified gene(s), knockdown and overexpression of ANRIL were evaluated in human umbilical vein endothelial cells and HepG2 cells. Ischemic stroke and coronary artery disease risk were then evaluated in the gene(s) demonstrated to be mediated by ANRIL in 3 populations of Chinese Han ancestry: 2 ischemic stroke populations consisting of the Central China cohort (903 cases and 873 controls) and the Northern China cohort (816 cases and 879 controls) and 1 coronary artery disease cohort consisting of 772 patients and 873 controls.Expression quantitative loci analysis identified CARD8 among others, with knockdown of ANRIL expression decreasing CARD8 expression and overexpression of ANRIL increasing CARD8 expression. The minor T allele of a previously identified CARD8 variant (rs2043211) was found to be significantly associated with a protective effect of ischemic stroke under the recessive model in 2 independent stroke cohorts. No significant association was found between rs2043211 and coronary artery disease.CARD8 is a downstream target gene regulated by ANRIL. Single nucleotide polymorphism rs2043211 in CARD8 is significantly associated with ischemic stroke. ANRIL may increase the risk of ischemic stroke through regulation of the CARD8 pathway.