Walker T, Wendel HP, Tetzloff L, Raabe C, Heidenreich O, Simon P, Scheule AM, Ziemer G. Inhibition of adhesion molecule expression on human venous endothelial cells by non-viral siRNA transfection.
J Cell Mol Med 2007;
11:139-47. [PMID:
17367508 PMCID:
PMC4401227 DOI:
10.1111/j.1582-4934.2007.00006.x]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective:
Expression of adhesion molecule receptors on venous endothelial cells crucially influences the fate of venous grafts by mediating leukocyte-endothelium interactions. These interactions include adhesion of leuko-cytes to the endothelium, followed by transendothelial migration, leading to neointimal hyperplasia (NIH) and finally graft occlusion. Therefore, inhibition of adhesion molecule expression may be a promising strategy to improve the quality of venous grafts.We tested the efficiency of non-viral transfection of human venous endothe-lial cells (HVEC) with short interfering RNA (siRNA) to specifically down-regulate adhesion molecule expression.
Methods:
Primary cultures of HVEC were examined for expression of the adhesion molecules ICAM1, VCAM1 and E-selectin (SELE) after non viral siRNA transfection. Adhesion molecule expression was measured by flow cytom-etry, real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunoblotting after stimulation with TNF-α, an inflammatory cytokine.
Results:
Non-transfected cells showed a strong increase of adhesion molecule expression following cytokine stimulation (P < 0.01). Upon transfection with specific siRNAs a sixfold decrease in ICAM1 (P < 0.001) and SELE expression and cell positivity (P < 0.05) and a twofold decrease in VCAM1 expression and cell positiv-ity (P < 0.01) Pcould be observed. SiRNA-mediated gene suppression of adhesion molecules was also reflected by corresponding decreases in adhesion protein and transcript levels.
Conclusions:
The expression of adhesion molecules on HVECs can be effectively inhibited by specific siRNAs using a safe, non-viral transfection approach. This is a promising tool to pre-condition venous bypass grafts in order to interfere with endothelium-leukocyte interactions and to prohibit neointima thickening or ath-erosclerosis, which are regarded to be the most important causes of venous graft failure.
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