Potential Role of Axonal Chemorepellent Slit2 in Modulating Adventitial Inflammation in a Rat Carotid Artery Balloon Injury Model

Leukocyte infiltration of adventitial and perivascular tissues is an early event in the development of vascular remodeling after injury. We investigated whether Slit/Robo-an axonal chemorepellent system in vertebrate and invertebrate development-is activated during the inflammatory phase that follows endothelial denudation. Using the rat carotid artery model of angioplasty, we conducted a time course analysis of mRNAs encoding Slit ligands (Slit2 and Slit3) and Robo receptors (Robo1, Robo2, and Robo4), as well as proinflammatory cell adhesion molecule (CAM) genes. Adventitial inflammatory cells were counted in immunostained arterial sections. E-selectin, vascular CAM-1, and intercellular CAM-1 were upregulated 2-3 hours after injury, followed by infiltration of neutrophils and monocytes as evidenced by real-time polymerase chain reaction, in situ hybridization, and immunohistochemistry. Slit2, Slit3, and Robo genes exhibited no expression changes at 3 hours; however, they were markedly upregulated 1 day after angioplasty. Intercellular CAM-1 expression was reduced by 50%, and the number of adventitial neutrophils decreased by >75% 1 day after angioplasty. Slit2 has been shown to be a potent chemorepelent of leukocytes, endothelial cells, and smooth muscle cells. Thus, we decided to further investigate the localization of Slit2 in injured vessels. Immunohistochemical stainings revealed the presence of Slit2 within the vessel wall and in the perivascular vasa vasorum of naive and injured arteries. Double immunohistochemical analyses showed that infiltrating monocytes expressed Slit2 in the perivascular and adventitial tissues of injured arteries 1 and 3 days postangioplasty. In addition, recombinant full-length Slit2 and Slit2-N/1118, an N-terminal fragment of Slit2, inhibited stromal cell-derived factor 1-mediated migration of circulating rat peripheral blood mononuclear cells. In summary, adventitial activation of CAM genes and neutrophil infiltration preceded upregulation of Slit/Robo genes. Sli2 expression colocalized with infiltrating inflammatory cells in the adventitial layer. This temporospatial association suggests that leukocyte chemorepellent Slit2 may be involved in halting the adventitial accumulation of inflammatory cells in injured vessels.

Adventitial inflammation and its interaction with intimal atherosclerotic lesions

The presence of adventitial inflammation in correlation with atherosclerotic lesions has been recognized for decades. In the last years, several studies have investigated the relevance and impact of adventitial inflammation on atherogenesis. In the abdominal aorta of elderly Apoe^−/− mice, adventitial inflammatory structures were characterized as organized ectopic lymphoid tissue, and therefore termed adventitial tertiary lymphoid organs (ATLOs). These ATLOs possess similarities in development, structure and function to secondary lymphoid organs. A crosstalk between intimal atherosclerotic lesions and ATLOs has been suggested, and several studies could demonstrate a potential role for medial vascular smooth muscle cells in this process. We here review the development, phenotypic characteristics, and function of ATLOs in atherosclerosis. Furthermore, we discuss the possible role of medial vascular smooth muscle cells and their interaction between plaque and ATLOs.