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Robichaud S, Rochon V, Emerton C, Laval T, Ouimet M. Trehalose promotes atherosclerosis regression in female mice. Front Cardiovasc Med 2024; 11:1298014. [PMID: 38433753 PMCID: PMC10906268 DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2024.1298014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease caused by the deposition of lipids within the artery wall. During atherogenesis, efficient autophagy is needed to facilitate efferocytosis and cholesterol efflux, limit inflammation and lipid droplet buildup, and eliminate defective mitochondria and protein aggregates. Central to the regulation of autophagy is the transcription factor EB (TFEB), which coordinates the expression of lysosomal biogenesis and autophagy genes. In recent years, trehalose has been shown to promote TFEB activation and protect against atherogenesis. Here, we sought to investigate the role of autophagy activation during atherosclerosis regression. Methods and results Atherosclerosis was established in C57BL/6N mice by injecting AAV-PCSK9 and 16 weeks of Western diet feeding, followed by switching to a chow diet to induce atherosclerosis regression. During the regression period, mice were either injected with trehalose concomitant with trehalose supplementation in their drinking water or injected with saline for 6 weeks. Female mice receiving trehalose had reduced atherosclerosis burden, as evidenced by reduced plaque lipid content, macrophage numbers and IL-1β content in parallel with increased plaque collagen deposition, which was not observed in their male counterparts. In addition, trehalose-treated female mice had lower levels of circulating leukocytes, including inflammatory monocytes and CD4+ T cells. Lastly, we found that autophagy flux in male mice was basally higher than in female mice during atherosclerosis progression. Conclusions Our data demonstrate a sex-specific effect of trehalose in atherosclerosis regression, whereby trehalose reduced lipid content, inflammation, and increased collagen content in female mice but not in male mice. Furthermore, we discovered inherent differences in the autophagy flux capacities between the sexes: female mice exhibited lower plaque autophagy than males, which rendered the female mice more responsive to atherosclerosis regression. Our work highlights the importance of understanding sex differences in atherosclerosis to personalize the development of future therapies to treat cardiovascular diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Robichaud
- Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Cardiovascular Metabolism and Cell Biology Laboratory, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Valérie Rochon
- Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Cardiovascular Metabolism and Cell Biology Laboratory, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Christina Emerton
- Cardiovascular Metabolism and Cell Biology Laboratory, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Thomas Laval
- Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Cardiovascular Metabolism and Cell Biology Laboratory, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Mireille Ouimet
- Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Cardiovascular Metabolism and Cell Biology Laboratory, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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Susser LI, Nguyen MA, Geoffrion M, Emerton C, Ouimet M, Khacho M, Rayner KJ. Mitochondrial Fragmentation Promotes Inflammation Resolution Responses in Macrophages via Histone Lactylation. Mol Cell Biol 2023; 43:531-546. [PMID: 37807652 PMCID: PMC10569354 DOI: 10.1080/10985549.2023.2253131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023] Open
Abstract
During the inflammatory response, macrophage phenotypes can be broadly classified as pro-inflammatory/classically activated "M1", or pro-resolving/alternatively "M2" macrophages. Although the classification of macrophages is general and assumes there are distinct phenotypes, in reality macrophages exist across a spectrum and must transform from a pro-inflammatory state to a proresolving state following an inflammatory insult. To adapt to changing metabolic needs of the cell, mitochondria undergo fusion and fission, which have important implications for cell fate and function. We hypothesized that mitochondrial fission and fusion directly contribute to macrophage function during the pro-inflammatory and proresolving phases. In the present study, we find that mitochondrial length directly contributes to macrophage phenotype, primarily during the transition from a pro-inflammatory to a proresolving state. Phenocopying the elongated mitochondrial network (by disabling the fission machinery using siRNA) leads to a baseline reduction in the inflammatory marker IL-1β, but a normal inflammatory response to LPS, similar to control macrophages. In contrast, in macrophages with a phenocopied fragmented phenotype (by disabling the fusion machinery using siRNA) there is a heightened inflammatory response to LPS and increased signaling through the ATF4/c-Jun transcriptional axis compared to control macrophages. Importantly, macrophages with a fragmented mitochondrial phenotype show increased expression of proresolving mediator arginase 1 and increased phagocytic capacity. Promoting mitochondrial fragmentation caused an increase in cellular lactate, and an increase in histone lactylation which caused an increase in arginase 1 expression. These studies demonstrate that a fragmented mitochondrial phenotype is critical for the proresolving response in macrophages and specifically drive epigenetic changes via lactylation of histones following an inflammatory insult.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leah I. Susser
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, Canada
| | - My-Anh Nguyen
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, Canada
| | | | | | - Mireille Ouimet
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Mireille Khacho
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
- Centre for Infection, Immunity & Inflammation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
- Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology (OISB), Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Katey J Rayner
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, Canada
- Centre for Infection, Immunity & Inflammation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
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Yildirim Z, Baboo S, Hamid SM, Dogan AE, Tufanli O, Robichaud S, Emerton C, Diedrich JK, Vatandaslar H, Nikolos F, Gu Y, Iwawaki T, Tarling E, Ouimet M, Nelson DL, Yates JR, Walter P, Erbay E. Intercepting IRE1 kinase-FMRP signaling prevents atherosclerosis progression. EMBO Mol Med 2022; 14:e15344. [PMID: 35191199 PMCID: PMC8988208 DOI: 10.15252/emmm.202115344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Revised: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Fragile X Mental Retardation protein (FMRP), widely known for its role in hereditary intellectual disability, is an RNA‐binding protein (RBP) that controls translation of select mRNAs. We discovered that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress induces phosphorylation of FMRP on a site that is known to enhance translation inhibition of FMRP‐bound mRNAs. We show ER stress‐induced activation of Inositol requiring enzyme‐1 (IRE1), an ER‐resident stress‐sensing kinase/endoribonuclease, leads to FMRP phosphorylation and to suppression of macrophage cholesterol efflux and apoptotic cell clearance (efferocytosis). Conversely, FMRP deficiency and pharmacological inhibition of IRE1 kinase activity enhances cholesterol efflux and efferocytosis, reducing atherosclerosis in mice. Our results provide mechanistic insights into how ER stress‐induced IRE1 kinase activity contributes to macrophage cholesterol homeostasis and suggests IRE1 inhibition as a promising new way to counteract atherosclerosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zehra Yildirim
- Department of Cardiology, Smidt Heart Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, National Nanotechnology Center, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Sabyasachi Baboo
- Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Syed M Hamid
- Department of Cardiology, Smidt Heart Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Asli E Dogan
- Department of Cardiology, Smidt Heart Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, National Nanotechnology Center, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Ozlem Tufanli
- Lagone Medical Center, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sabrina Robichaud
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Heart Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Christina Emerton
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Heart Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Jolene K Diedrich
- Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Hasan Vatandaslar
- Institute of Molecular Health Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Fotis Nikolos
- Samuel Oschin Cancer Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Yanghong Gu
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Takao Iwawaki
- Department of Life Science, Medical Research Institute, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan
| | - Elizabeth Tarling
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Mireille Ouimet
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Heart Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - David L Nelson
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - John R Yates
- Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Peter Walter
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Ebru Erbay
- Department of Cardiology, Smidt Heart Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Robichaud S, Rasheed A, Pietrangelo A, Doyoung Kim A, Boucher DM, Emerton C, Vijithakumar V, Gharibeh L, Fairman G, Mak E, Nguyen MA, Geoffrion M, Wirka R, Rayner KJ, Ouimet M. Autophagy Is Differentially Regulated in Leukocyte and Nonleukocyte Foam Cells During Atherosclerosis. Circ Res 2022; 130:831-847. [PMID: 35137605 DOI: 10.1161/circresaha.121.320047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Atherosclerosis is characterized by an accumulation of foam cells within the arterial wall, resulting from excess cholesterol uptake and buildup of cytosolic lipid droplets (LDs). Autophagy promotes LD clearance by freeing stored cholesterol for efflux, a process that has been shown to be atheroprotective. While the role of autophagy in LD catabolism has been studied in macrophage-derived foam cells, this has remained unexplored in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC)-derived foam cells that constitute a large fraction of foam cells within atherosclerotic lesions. OBJECTIVE We performed a comparative analysis of autophagy flux in lipid-rich aortic intimal populations to determine whether VSMC-derived foam cells metabolize LDs similarly to their macrophage counterparts. METHODS AND RESULTS Atherosclerosis was induced in GFP-LC3 transgenic mice by PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9)-adeno-associated viral injection and Western diet feeding. Using flow cytometry of aortic digests, we observed a significant increase in dysfunctional autophagy of VSMC-derived foam cells during atherogenesis relative to macrophage-derived foam cells. Using cell culture models of lipid-loaded VSMC and macrophage, we show that autophagy-mediated cholesterol efflux from VSMC foam cells was poor relative to macrophage foam cells, and largely occurs when HDL (high-density lipoprotein) is used as a cholesterol acceptor, as opposed to apoA-1 (apolipoproteinA-1). This was associated with the predominant expression of ABCG1 in VSMC foam cells. Using metformin, an autophagy activator, cholesterol efflux to HDL was significantly increased in VSMC, but not in macrophage, foam cells. CONCLUSIONS These data demonstrate that VSMC and macrophage foam cells perform cholesterol efflux by distinct mechanisms, and that autophagy flux is highly impaired in VSMC foam cells, but can be induced by pharmacological means. Further investigation is warranted into targeting autophagy specifically in VSMC foam cells, the predominant foam cell subtype of advanced atherosclerotic plaques, to promote reverse cholesterol transport and resolution of the atherosclerotic plaque.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Robichaud
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., C.E., V.V., L.G., G.F., E.M., M.-A.N., M.G., K.J.R., M.O.)
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., V.V., L.G., G.F., M.-A.N., K.J.R., M.O.)
| | - Adil Rasheed
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., C.E., V.V., L.G., G.F., E.M., M.-A.N., M.G., K.J.R., M.O.)
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., V.V., L.G., G.F., M.-A.N., K.J.R., M.O.)
| | - Antonietta Pietrangelo
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., C.E., V.V., L.G., G.F., E.M., M.-A.N., M.G., K.J.R., M.O.)
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., V.V., L.G., G.F., M.-A.N., K.J.R., M.O.)
| | - Anne Doyoung Kim
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., C.E., V.V., L.G., G.F., E.M., M.-A.N., M.G., K.J.R., M.O.)
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., V.V., L.G., G.F., M.-A.N., K.J.R., M.O.)
| | - Dominique M Boucher
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., C.E., V.V., L.G., G.F., E.M., M.-A.N., M.G., K.J.R., M.O.)
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., V.V., L.G., G.F., M.-A.N., K.J.R., M.O.)
| | - Christina Emerton
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., C.E., V.V., L.G., G.F., E.M., M.-A.N., M.G., K.J.R., M.O.)
| | - Viyashini Vijithakumar
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., C.E., V.V., L.G., G.F., E.M., M.-A.N., M.G., K.J.R., M.O.)
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., V.V., L.G., G.F., M.-A.N., K.J.R., M.O.)
| | - Lara Gharibeh
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., C.E., V.V., L.G., G.F., E.M., M.-A.N., M.G., K.J.R., M.O.)
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., V.V., L.G., G.F., M.-A.N., K.J.R., M.O.)
| | - Garrett Fairman
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., C.E., V.V., L.G., G.F., E.M., M.-A.N., M.G., K.J.R., M.O.)
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., V.V., L.G., G.F., M.-A.N., K.J.R., M.O.)
| | - Esther Mak
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., C.E., V.V., L.G., G.F., E.M., M.-A.N., M.G., K.J.R., M.O.)
| | - My-Anh Nguyen
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., C.E., V.V., L.G., G.F., E.M., M.-A.N., M.G., K.J.R., M.O.)
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., V.V., L.G., G.F., M.-A.N., K.J.R., M.O.)
| | - Michele Geoffrion
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., C.E., V.V., L.G., G.F., E.M., M.-A.N., M.G., K.J.R., M.O.)
| | - Robert Wirka
- University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill (R.W.)
| | - Katey J Rayner
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., C.E., V.V., L.G., G.F., E.M., M.-A.N., M.G., K.J.R., M.O.)
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., V.V., L.G., G.F., M.-A.N., K.J.R., M.O.)
| | - Mireille Ouimet
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., C.E., V.V., L.G., G.F., E.M., M.-A.N., M.G., K.J.R., M.O.)
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, ON (S.R., A.R., A.P., A.D.K., D.M.B., V.V., L.G., G.F., M.-A.N., K.J.R., M.O.)
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