The apolipoprotein A-I mimetic peptide ETC-642 exhibits anti-inflammatory properties that are comparable to high density lipoproteins

Pathological role of fractalkine/CX3CL1 in rheumatic diseases: a unique chemokine with multiple functions

Understanding rheumatic diseases from the perspective of chemokine biology has shaped and will continue to shape our approach for targeted drug design. Among different kinds of chemokines, fractalkine/CX3CL1 has been found to play an important role in inflammation, portraying unique functional, and structural characteristics. This review summarizes the emerging role of fractalkine/CX3CL1 from a functional and clinical perspective and provides evidence to validate it as a potential therapeutic target in rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren's syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, as well as diseases related to vascular inflammation. From this, recent studies investigating potential therapeutic agents against fractalkine/CX3CL1's role in pathology have shown promise.

The apolipoprotein A-I mimetic peptide, ETC-642, reduces chronic vascular inflammation in the rabbit

BACKGROUND

High-density lipoproteins (HDL) and their main apolipoprotein, apoA-I, exhibit anti-inflammatory properties. The development of peptides that mimic HDL apolipoproteins offers a promising strategy to reduce inflammatory disease. This study aimed to compare the anti-inflammatory effects of ETC-642, an apoA-I mimetic peptide, with that of discoidal reconstituted HDL (rHDL), consisting of full-length apoA-I complexed with phosphatidylcholine, in rabbits with chronic vascular inflammation.

RESULTS

New Zealand White rabbits (n = 10/group) were placed on chow supplemented with 0.2% (w/w) cholesterol for 6-weeks. The animals received two infusions of saline, rHDL (8 mg/kg apoA-I) or ETC-642 (30 mg/kg peptide) on the third and fifth days of the final week. The infusions of rHDL and ETC-642 were able to significantly reduce cholesterol-induced expression of intracellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in the thoracic aorta (p < 0.05). When isolated rabbit HDL was pre-incubated with human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs), prior to stimulation with TNF-α, it was found that HDL from ETC-642 treated rabbits were more effective at inhibiting the TNF-α-induced increase in ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and p65 than HDL isolated from saline treated rabbits (p < 0.05). There were, however, no changes in HDL lipid composition between treatment groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Infusion of ETC-642 causes anti-inflammatory effects that are comparable to rHDL in an animal model of chronic vascular inflammation and highlights that apoA-I mimetic peptides present a viable strategy for the treatment of inflammatory disease.