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2014 (English)In: European Journal of Immunology, ISSN 0014-2980, E-ISSN 1521-4141, Vol. 44, no 10, p. 3081-3092Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease associated with the activation of innate immune TLRs and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein (NOD)like receptor pathways. However, the function of most innate immune receptors in atherosclerosis remains unclear. Here, we show that NOD2 is a crucial innate immune receptor influencing vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis severity. 10-week stimulation with muramyl dipeptide (MDP), the NOD2 cognate ligand, aggravated atherosclerosis, as indicated by the augmented lesion burden, increased vascular inflammation and enlarged lipid-rich necrotic cores in Ldlr(-/-) mice. Myeloid-specific ablation of NOD2, but not its downstream kinase, receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 2, restrained the expansion of the lipid-rich necrotic core in Ldlr(-/-) chimeric mice. In vitro stimulation of macrophages with MDP enhanced the uptake of oxidized low-density lipoprotein and impaired cholesterol efflux in concordance with upregulation of scavenger receptor A1/2 and downregulation of ATP-binding cassette transporter A1. Ex vivo stimulation of human carotid plaques with MDP led to increased activation of inflammatory signaling pathways p38 MAPK and NF-kappa B-mediated release of proinflammatory cytokines. Altogether, this study suggests that NOD2 contributes to the expansion of the lipid-rich necrotic core and promotes vascular inflammation in atherosclerosis.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Wiley-VCH Verlag, 2014
Keywords
Atherosclerosis; Inflammation; Innate immunity; Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 2; Pattern recognition receptor
National Category
Clinical Medicine
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-112483 (URN)10.1002/eji.201444755 (DOI)000343827600024 ()25042478 (PubMedID)
Note
Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council; Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation; European Union projects (Immunath, AtheroRemo, AtheroFlux); O. E. och Edla Johanssons vetenskapliga stiftelse; KI foundation; KI Joint funding postdoc position; Swedish Society for Medical Research; Chinese Scholarship Council; Peking University Health Science Center; National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia
2014-11-282014-11-282017-12-05