Lipopolysaccharide-stimulated responses in rat aortic endothelial cells by a systems biology approach

Comparison of Selenium Nanoparticles and Sodium Selenite on the Alleviation of Early Atherosclerosis by Inhibiting Endothelial Dysfunction and Inflammation in Apolipoprotein E-Deficient Mice

Atherosclerosis and related cardiovascular diseases represent the greatest threats to human health, worldwide. Previous animal studies showed that selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) and Na₂SeO₃ might have anti-atherosclerotic activity, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly elucidated. This study compared the anti-atherosclerotic activity of SeNPs stabilized with chitosan (CS-SeNPs) and Na₂SeO₃ and the related mechanism in a high-fat-diet-fed apolipoprotein E-deficient mouse model of atherosclerosis. The results showed that oral administration of both CS-SeNPs and Na₂SeO₃ (40 μg Se/kg/day) for 10 weeks significantly reduced atherosclerotic lesions in mouse aortae. Mechanistically, CS-SeNPs and Na₂SeO₃ not only alleviated vascular endothelial dysfunction, as evidenced by the increase of serum nitric oxide level and the decrease of aortic adhesion molecule expression, but also vascular inflammation, as evidenced by the decrease of macrophage recruitment as well as the expression of proinflammatory molecules. Importantly, these results were replicated within in-vivo experiments on the cultured human endothelial cell line EA.hy926. Overall, CS-SeNPs had a comparable effect with Na₂SeO₃ but might have more potential in atherosclerosis prevention due to its lower toxicity. Together, these results provide more insights into the mechanisms of selenium against atherosclerosis and further highlight the potential of selenium supplementation as a therapeutic strategy for atherosclerosis.

In vitro profiling of endothelial volatile organic compounds under resting and pro-inflammatory conditions

INTRODUCTION

The evaluation of volatile organic compounds(VOCs) emitted by human body offers a unique tool to set up new non-invasive devices for early diagnosis and long-lasting monitoring of most human diseases. However, their cellular origin and metabolic fate have not been completely elucidated yet, thus limiting their clinical application. Endothelium acts as an interface between blood and surrounding tissues. As such, it adapts its physiology in response to different environmental modifications thus playing a role in the pathogenesis of many metabolic and inflammatory diseases.

OBJECTIVES

Since endothelium specifically reshapes its physiologic functions upon environmental changes the objective of this study was to evaluate if and how pro-inflammatory stimuli affect VOC metabolism in endothelial cell in culture.

METHODS

Gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection was applied to profile VOCs in the headspace of cultured endothelial cells (EC) in the absence or presence of the pro-inflammatory stimulus lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

RESULTS

We observed that, under resting conditions, EC affected the amount of 58 VOCs belonging to aldehyde, alkane and ketone families. Among these, LPS significantly altered the amount of 15 VOCs. ROC curves show a perfect performance (AUC = 1) for 10 metabolites including 1-butanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol.

DISCUSSION

The emission and uptake of the aforementioned VOCs disclose potential unexplored metabolic pathways for EC that deserve to be investigated. Overall, we identified new candidate VOC potentially exploitable, upon experimental confirm in in vivo model of disease, as potential biomarkers of sepsis and pro-inflammatory clinical settings.

Essential oil from Fructus Alpinia zerumbet (fruit of Alpinia zerumbet (Pers.) Burtt.et Smith) protected against aortic endothelial cell injury and inflammation in vitro and in vivo

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Fructus Alpinia zerumbet (FAZ), a dry and ripe fruit of Alpinia zerumbet (Pers.) Burtt. et Smith, is widely used as a spice to treat cardiovascular diseases in clinic as a miao folk medicine in Guizhou Province of China. Essential oil extracted from FAZ (EOFAZ) is the key bioactive ingredients.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study aimed to examine the effects and mechanisms of EOFAZ on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endothelial cell injury, inflammation and apoptosis in vitro and in vivo.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

For the in vitro study, LPS-treated human aortic endothelial cells were used to perform PCR, western blot analysis and immunofluorescence. For the in vivo study, male mouse were divided into four groups, vehicle control group and LPS group received 0.5% Tween-80 in saline; and two EOFAZ groups receive different dose of EOFAZ (90 mg kg ^-1·day^-1, 180 mg kg ^-1·day^-1) respectively. Each group was fed for 7 days by intragastrical administration at daily base. Then, except vehicle control group received saline, mice in other three groups were administered with LPS (1 mg kg ^-1, dissolved in saline) by intraperitoneal injection. 24 h later, Aorta tissue was collected and frozen immediately in liquid N₂, stored at -80 °C for western blot analysis.

RESULTS

We found that EOFAZ completely prevented LPS-induced HAEC activation and inflammation in vitro and in vivo, as assessed by expression of endothelial adhesion molecules, ICAM-1 and VCAM-1. Similarly, EOFAZ significantly blunted LPS-induced endothelial injury, as tested by MTT assay, LDH release and caspase-3 activation. We further demonstrated that TLR4-dependent NF-κB signaling may be involved in the process.

CONCLUSION

EOFAZ protected against LPS-induced endothelial cell injury and inflammation likely via inhibition of TLR4-dependent NF-κB signaling.

Sepsis Through the Eyes of Proteomics: The Progress in the Last Decade

Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response caused by infection whose molecular mechanisms are still not completely understood. The early detection of sepsis remains a great challenge for clinicians because no single biomarker capable of its reliable prediction, hence, delayed diagnosis frequently undermines treatment efforts, thereby contributing to high mortality. There are several experimental approaches used to reveal the molecular mechanism of sepsis progression. Proteomics coupled with mass spectrometry made possible to identify differentially expressed proteins in clinical samples. Recent advancement in liquid chromatography-based separation methods and mass spectrometers resolution and sensitivity with absolute quantitation methods, made possible to use proteomics as a powerful tool for study of clinical samples with higher coverage proteome profiles. In recent years, number of proteomic studies have been done under sepsis and/or in response to endotoxin and showed various signaling pathways, functions, and biomarkers. This review enlightened the proteomic progress in the last decade in sepsis.

The role of proteomics in understanding biological mechanisms of sepsis

Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory state caused by infection. Complications of this infection with multiple organ failure lead to more lethal conditions, such as severe sepsis and septic shock. Sepsis is one of the leading causes of US deaths. Novel biomarkers with high sensitivity and specificity may be helpful for early diagnosis of sepsis and for improvement of patient outcomes through the development of new therapies. Mass spectrometry-based proteomics offers powerful tools to identify such biomarkers and furthermore to give insight to fundamental mechanisms of this clinical condition. In this review, we summarize findings from proteomics studies of sepsis and how their applications have provided more understanding into the pathogenesis of septic infection. Literatures related to "proteomics", "sepsis", "systemic inflammatory response syndrome", "severe sepsis", "septic infection", and "multiple organ dysfunction syndrome" were searched using PubMed. Findings about neonatal and adult sepsis are discussed separately. Within the adult sepsis studies, results are grouped based on the models (e.g., human or animal). Across investigations in clinical populations and in rodent and mammalian animal models, biological pathways, such as inflammatory and acute phase response, coagulation, complement, mitochondrial energy metabolism, chaperones, and oxidative stress, are altered at the protein level. These proteomics studies have discovered many novel biomarker candidates of septic infection. Validation the clinical use of these biomarker candidates may significantly impact the diagnosis and prognosis of sepsis. In addition, the molecular mechanisms revealed by these studies may also guide the development of more effective treatments.

Apigenin protects endothelial cells from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation by decreasing caspase-3 activation and modulating mitochondrial function

Acute and chronic inflammation is characterized by increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, dysregulation of mitochondrial metabolism and abnormal immune function contributing to cardiovascular diseases and sepsis. Clinical and epidemiological studies suggest potential beneficial effects of dietary interventions in inflammatory diseases but understanding of how nutrients work remains insufficient. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of apigenin, an anti-inflammatory flavonoid abundantly found in our diet, in endothelial cells during inflammation. Here, we show that apigenin reduced lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced apoptosis by decreasing ROS production and the activity of caspase-3 in endothelial cells. Apigenin conferred protection against LPS-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and reestablished normal mitochondrial complex I activity, a major site of electron leakage and superoxide production, suggesting its ability to modulate endothelial cell metabolic function during inflammation. Collectively, these findings indicate that the dietary compound apigenin stabilizes mitochondrial function during inflammation preventing endothelial cell damage and thus provide new translational opportunities for the use of dietary components in the prevention and treatment of inflammatory diseases.

The Use of High-Throughput Technologies to Investigate Vascular Inflammation and Atherosclerosis

The greatest challenge of scientific research is to understand the causes and consequences of disease. In recent years, great efforts have been devoted to unraveling the basic mechanisms of atherosclerosis (the underlying pathology of cardiovascular disease), which remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Because of the complex and multifactorial pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease, different research techniques have increasingly been combined to unravel genetic aspects, molecular pathways, and cellular functions involved in atherogenesis, vascular inflammation, and dyslipidemia to gain a multifaceted picture addressing this complexity. Thanks to the rapid evolution of high-throughput technologies, we are now able to generate large-scale data on the DNA, RNA, and protein levels. With the help of sophisticated computational tools, these data sets are integrated to enhance information extraction and are being increasingly used in a systems biology approach to model biological processes as interconnected and regulated networks. This review exemplifies the use of high-throughput technologies—such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and epigenomics—and systems biology to explore pathomechanisms of vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis.

Comparative proteomic analysis of rat aorta in a subtotal nephrectomy model

Although accelerated atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis are the main causes of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, the molecular pathogenesis remains largely obscure. Our study of the aortic function in a typical CKD model of subtotal nephrectomy (SNX) rats demonstrated phenotypes that resemble CKD patients with aortic stiffness. The 2-DE analysis of rat aortas followed by MS identified 29 up-regulated and 53 down-regulated proteins in SNX rats. Further Western blot and immunohistochemistry analyses validated the decreased HSP27 and increased milk fat globule epidermal growth factor-8 (MFG-E8) in SNX rats. Functional classification of differential protein profiles using KOGnitor revealed that the two major categories involved in aortic stiffness are posttranslational modification, protein turnover, chaperones (23%) and cytoskeleton (21%). Ingenuity Pathway Analysis highlighted cellular assembly and organization, and cardiovascular system development and function as the two most relevant pathways. Among the identified proteins, the clinical significance of the secreted protein MFG-E8 was confirmed in 50 CKD patients, showing that increased serum MFG-E8 level is positively related to aortic stiffness and renal function impairment. Drug interventions with an inhibitor of the angiotensin converting enzyme, enalapril, in SNX rats improved aortic stiffness and decreased MFG-E8 depositions. Together, our studies provide a repertoire of potential biomarkers related to the aortic stiffness in CKD.

Analysis of NF-kappaB signaling pathways by proteomic approaches

NF-kappaB is a transcription factor that plays important roles in the regulation of apoptosis and inflammation as well as innate and adaptive immunity. Consequently, dysregulations in the NF-kappaB activation cascade have been associated with the pathogenesis of several diseases such as cancer, atherosclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Although NF-kappaB signaling pathways have been extensively investigated in this context, its varying components and targets are far from being completely elucidated. There is still an urgent need for the detection of novel NF-kappaB target proteins, novel interaction partners and novel regulators in the activation cascade, in particular with regard to its role in the aforementioned diseases. Therefore, several groups have performed different proteomic approaches to further investigate NF-kappaB signal transduction pathways. Most of these studies have been carried out in the area of cancer research; however, there are also several analyses in the field of inflammatory or autoimmune diseases. Furthermore, there have been a number of basic investigations that principally examined binding partners or so far unknown target proteins of NF-kappaB-related proteins. With these approaches, a number of novel and interesting proteins have been found that interfere with NF-kappaB signal transduction and might have an impact on NF-kappaB-related diseases. The results of these studies are summarized and discussed in this review.

Pattern recognition receptor-dependent mechanisms of acute lung injury

Acute lung injury (ALI) that clinically manifests as acute respiratory distress syndrome is caused by an uncontrolled systemic inflammatory response resulting from clinical events including sepsis, major surgery and trauma. Innate immunity activation plays a central role in the development of ALI. Innate immunity is activated through families of related pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), which recognize conserved microbial motifs or pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Toll-like receptors were the first major family of PRRs discovered in mammals. Recently, NACHT-leucine-rich repeat (LRR) receptors and retinoic acid-inducible gene-like receptors have been added to the list. It is now understood that in addition to recognizing infectious stimuli, both Toll-like receptors and NACHT-LRR receptors can also respond to endogenous molecules released in response to stress, trauma and cell damage. These molecules have been termed damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). It has been clinically observed for a long time that infectious and noninfectious insults initiate inflammation, so confirmation of overlapping receptor-signal pathways of activation between PAMPs and DAMPs is no surprise. This review provides an overview of the PRR-dependent mechanisms of ALI and clinical implication. Modification of PRR pathways is likely to be a logical therapeutic target for ALI/acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Endothelial CD200 is heterogeneously distributed, regulated and involved in immune cell-endothelium interactions

CD200 is a highly glycosylated cell surface protein containing two immunoglobulin superfamily domains in the extracellular region and performs immunosuppressive activities. It is widely distributed in various tissues including the vascular endothelium. We report here the distribution of CD200 in rat endothelia from different vascular beds. Endothelial CD200 immunoreactivity was weakly expressed in most arteries but was intensely expressed in the arterioles, most veins and venules, as well as continuous and fenestrated capillaries. The distribution of CD200 in the sinusoidal and lymphatic endothelia was variable. Immunoelectron microscopic studies revealed that endothelial CD200 varied considerably not only in different microvasculatures but also in the membrane domains at the subcellular level. Endothelial CD200 expression was differentially regulated by lipopolysaccharide in cell types both in vivo and in vitro. Functional assessments of endothelial CD200 suggested that the physical binding between CD200 and CD200 receptor (CD200R) was involved in T-cell adhesion to the endothelium but not in macrophage-endothelium interaction. In the latter, however, CD200 agonist, a synthetic peptide from complementarity-determining region 3 of mouse CD200, may trigger CD200R signaling in macrophages to suppress their adhesion to the endothelium. Our findings demonstrate that the distribution, subcellular localization, and lipopolysaccharide-regulation of endothelial CD200 are heterogeneous, and provide evidence elucidating the functional roles of endothelial CD200 during tissue inflammation.

Systems biology approaches and pathway tools for investigating cardiovascular disease

Systems biology aims to understand the nonlinear interactions of multiple biomolecular components that characterize a living organism. One important aspect of systems biology approaches is to identify the biological pathways or networks that connect the differing elements of a system, and examine how they evolve with temporal and environmental changes. The utility of this method becomes clear when applied to multifactorial diseases with complex etiologies, such as inflammatory-related diseases, herein exemplified by atherosclerosis. In this paper, the initial studies in this discipline are reviewed and examined within the context of the development of the field. In addition, several different software tools are briefly described and a novel application for the KEGG database suite called KegArray is presented. This tool is designed for mapping the results of high-throughput omics studies, including transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics data, onto interactive KEGG metabolic pathways. The utility of KegArray is demonstrated using a combined transcriptomics and lipidomics dataset from a published study designed to examine the potential of cholesterol in the diet to influence the inflammatory component in the development of atherosclerosis. These data were mapped onto the KEGG PATHWAY database, with a low cholesterol diet affecting 60 distinct biochemical pathways and a high cholesterol exposure affecting 76 biochemical pathways. A total of 77 pathways were differentially affected between low and high cholesterol diets. The KEGG pathways "Biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids" and "Sphingolipid metabolism" evidenced multiple changes in gene/lipid levels between low and high cholesterol treatment, and are discussed in detail. Taken together, this paper provides a brief introduction to systems biology and the applications of pathway mapping to the study of cardiovascular disease, as well as a summary of available tools. Current limitations and future visions of this emerging field are discussed, with the conclusion that combining knowledge from biological pathways and high-throughput omics data will move clinical medicine one step further to individualize medical diagnosis and treatment.

Effects of cyclooxygenase inhibition on canine coronary artery blood flow and thrombosis

This study was designed to determine the effect of inhibitors of cyclooxygenase (COX)-1, COX-2, and the nonselective COX inhibitor naproxen on coronary vasoactivity and thrombogenicity under baseline and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory conditions. We hypothesize that endothelial COX-1 is the primary COX isoform in the canine normal coronary artery, which mediates arachidonic acid (AA)-induced vasodilatation. However, COX-2 can be induced and overexpressed by inflammatory mediators and becomes the major local COX isoform responsible for the production of antithrombotic prostaglandins during systemic inflammation. The interventions included the selective COX-1 inhibitor SC-560 (0.3 mg/kg iv), the selective COX-2 inhibitor nimesulide (5 mg/kg iv), or the nonselective COX inhibitor naproxen (3 mg/kg iv). The selective prostacyclin (IP) receptor antagonist RO-3244794 (RO) was used as an investigational tool to delineate the role of prostacyclin (PGI2) in modulating vascular reactivity. AA-induced vasodilatation of the left circumflex coronary artery was suppressed to a similar extent by each of the COX inhibitors and RO. The data suggest that AA-induced vasodilatation in the normal coronary artery is mediated by a single COX isoform, the constitutive endothelial COX-1, which is reported to be susceptible to COX-2 inhibitors. The effect of the COX inhibitors on thrombus formation was evaluated in a model of carotid artery thrombosis secondary to electrolytic-induced vessel wall injury. Pretreatment with LPS (0.5 mg/kg iv) induced a systemic inflammatory response and prolonged the time-to-occlusive thrombus formation, which was reduced in the LPS-treated animals by the administration of nimesulide. In contrast, neither SC-560 nor naproxen influenced the time to thrombosis in the animals pretreated with LPS. The data are of significance in view of reported adverse cardiovascular events observed in clinical trials involving the use of selective COX-2 inhibitors, thereby suggesting that the endothelial constitutive COX-1 and the inducible vascular COX-2 serve important functions in maintaining vascular homeostasis.

Effects of lipopolysaccharide and Mannheimia haemolytica leukotoxin on bovine lung microvascular endothelial cells and alveolar epithelial cells

Bovine respiratory disease resulting from infection with Mannheimia haemolytica commonly results in extensive vascular leakage into the alveoli. M. haemolytica produces two substances, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and leukotoxin (LKT), that are known to be important in inducing some of the pathological changes. In the present study, we examined bovine pulmonary epithelial (BPE) cell and bovine lung microvascular endothelial cell monolayer permeability, as measured by trans-well endothelial and epithelial cell electrical resistance (TEER), after incubation with LPS, LKT, or LPS-activated neutrophils. Endothelial cell monolayers exposed to LPS exhibited significant decreases in TEER that corresponded with increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines, apoptosis, and morphological changes. In contrast, BPE cells exposed to LPS increased the levels of production of inflammatory cytokines but displayed no changes in TEER, apoptosis, or visible morphological changes. Both cell types appeared to express relatively equal levels of the LPS ligand Toll-like receptor 4. However, TEER in BPE cell monolayers was decreased when the cells were incubated with LPS-activated neutrophils. Although the incubation of BPE cells with LKT decreased TEER, this was not reduced by the incubation of LKT with a neutralizing antibody and was reversed when LKT was preincubated with the LPS-neutralizing compound polymyxin B. Because BPE cells did not express the LKT receptor CD11a/CD18, we infer that contaminating LPS was responsible for the decreased TEER. In conclusion, LPS triggered changes in endothelial cells that would be consistent with vascular leakage, but neither LPS nor LKT caused similar changes in epithelial cells, unless neutrophils were also present.