© 2000 American Heart Association, Inc.
Atherosclerosis and Lipoproteins |
Increased Expression of Lectinlike Oxidized Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor-1 in Initial Atherosclerotic Lesions of Watanabe Heritable Hyperlipidemic Rabbits
From the National Cardiovascular Center Research Institute (M.C., M.K., T.M., T.S.), Suita, Osaka, Japan; the Department of Pharmacology (M.C., S.N.), Faculty of Medicine, and the Department of Geriatric Medicine (M.M., H.K., N.K., T.K.), Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan; and the Department of Molecular Pathophysiology (T.S.), Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
Correspondence to Tatsuya Sawamura, MD, PhD, National Cardiovascular Center Research Institute, Suita, Osaka 565-8565, Japan. E-mail sawamura{at}ri.ncvc.go.jp
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Abstract—A novel lectinlike oxidized low density lipoprotein receptor-1 (LOX-1) was recently identified in bovine aortic endothelial cells. It is strongly suggested to have a potential role in the initiation and development of atherosclerosis. In this study, we have isolated cDNA clones encoding the rabbit homologue of LOX-1 by screening a rabbit placenta cDNA library. In amino acid sequence and domain structure organization, the rabbit LOX-1 is highly conserved with the human counterpart. Transfection of rabbit LOX-1 cDNA to HEK-293 cells confers on them the activity to bind and internalize oxidized low density lipoprotein. Rabbit LOX-1 was identified as a 45-kDa protein by Western blot analysis with a specific monoclonal antibody. Notably, analyses by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction and Western blot revealed that LOX-1 was accumulated in 8-week-old Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbit aortas compared with normal rabbit aortas. Immunostaining confirmed that the augmented expression of LOX-1 was primarily localized within the intima at the earliest stages of atherogenesis. The most prominent staining was in the endothelial cells of lesions. Furthermore, the distinctive staining of LOX-1 was identified in the endothelium of nonlesion areas of Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbit aortas. Taken together, these findings support the possibility that LOX-1 might be involved in the initiation of atherosclerosis.
Key Words: atherosclerosis • endothelium • oxidized low density lipoproteins • lectinlike oxidized low density lipoprotein receptor-1 • Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbits
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Introduction |
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Endothelial dysfunction is implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.1 2 3 Oxidized LDL (Ox-LDL) is believed to be a key atherogenic component relevant to endothelial injury in vivo.1 4 A number of "scavenger receptors" characterized by binding to Ox-LDL have been identified.5 6 Among them, the lectinlike Ox-LDL receptor-1 (LOX-1) is expressed in the endothelial cells of large arteries. Applying an expression cloning strategy, we originally identified the LOX-1 cDNA from bovine aortic endothelial cells.7 LOX-1 is a type II membrane protein with a C-type lectinlike structure at the C-terminus. In addition to Ox-LDL, LOX-1 binds aged/apoptotic cells, suggesting potential physiological functions.8
LOX-1 gene expression is highly regulated. The inducible expression in
cultured endothelial cells by phorbol ester, tumor
necrosis factor-
, angiotensin II, and shear stress, as
well as the ligand, Ox-LDL, has been reported.7 9 10 11 12 13
Besides these in vitro studies, the expression of LOX-1 was confirmed
in normal arteries and atherosclerotic intima in
vivo.7 14 15 16 An enhanced expression in hypertensive rat
aorta was also observed.14 15 Integrating inflammatory and
fluid mechanical stimuli, the initiation of
atherosclerosis develops focally and is accelerated
under hypertension. This inducible nature of LOX-1 expression suggests
an active role in the complex atherogenic processes.17
The rabbit is an important model in the study of lipoprotein metabolism and atherosclerosis.18 Cloning of rabbit LOX-1 cDNA will facilitate the use of the rabbit for the study of the potential role of LOX-1, in particular, in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbits with defective LDL receptors present spontaneous hyperlipidemia leading to atherosclerosis, and the pathological nature of atherogenesis in WHHL rabbits resembles that in humans.19 20 21 In this context, we have isolated the cDNA for a rabbit homologue of LOX-1 to study the potential roles of LOX-1 in hyperlipidemia-based atherosclerosis. To investigate the regulation of LOX-1 in vivo during hyperlipidemia and its association with atherogenesis, we characterized the expression of LOX-1 in proatherogenic WHHL rabbit aortas compared with normal Japanese White (JW) rabbit aortas.
In the present study, we used 8-week-old WHHL rabbits to focus on a time frame that possibly precedes the formation of fatty lesions in large arteries. Hence, this hypercholesterolemic model provides a unique opportunity for exploration of the potential role of LOX-1 in the initiation of atherogenic processes.
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Methods |
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Animals
Twelve 8-week-old male JW rabbits weighing
1.8 kg were
purchased from Japan SLC (Hamamatsu, Japan). Twelve 8-week-old male
homozygous WHHL rabbits weighing 1.6 kg were purchased from Kitayama
Labes Ltd (Nagano, Japan). The rabbits had been fed a standard
chow diet ad libitum and were killed at the age of 8 weeks. They were
euthanized under intravenous pentobarbital (25 mg/kg)
injection, and their descending thoracic aortas were immediately
collected. Two adjacent intimal/medial segments of the thoracic aorta
were used for reverse transcription (RT)–polymerase chain reaction
(PCR) and Western blotting. A third adjacent segment with ostia at the
second intercostal artery level was studied by immunohistochemistry.
Meanwhile, preparations of WHHL rabbit aortic tissues by
endothelial cell denudation were also made. In brief,
the WHHL rabbit aortic segments were divided into 2 pieces by
longitudinal section. One piece was scraped 3 times on the luminal
surface with a cover slice and washed thoroughly with PBS solution to
remove the endothelium. In parallel, the alternative
half was set as the control. All animal experiments were conducted in
accordance with the Guidelines for Animal Experiments of the National
Cardiovascular Center, Japan.
Serum Sampling and Analysis
Blood samples were drawn from rabbits before euthanasia, and
serum total cholesterol levels were measured by using
enzymatic methods (Cholesterol E-Test, Wako Pure
Chemicals).
cDNA Cloning and Sequence Analysis
Rabbit placenta was collected from a preterm (24-day gestation)
JW rabbit that was anesthetized with pentobarbital. A rabbit
placenta cDNA library was constructed with size-fractionated cDNA
(>500 bp) in 
gt10. Approximately 5x105
clones were screened at high-stringency conditions by using the coding
region of human LOX-1 cDNA as a probe. The probe was radiolabeled by a
random primer DNA labeling kit (Takara) to a specific activity of
109 cpm/µg DNA with the use of
[-32P]dCTP (6000 Ci/mmol). Hybridization was
performed in 50 mmol/L Tris-HCl (pH 7.5), 1% SDS, 1 mol/L NaCl,
and 200 µg/mL yeast tRNA for 12 hours at 65°C. After washes with
2x SSC, with 0.1% SDS and 0.1x SSC, and with 0.1% SDS for 20
minutes each, the filters were exposed to x-ray film (Kodak) at
-80°C overnight. Four positive clones containing a >1.5-kb insert
with the full open reading frame were identified. The inserts were
subcloned to pUC18 vector for sequencing and to pME18s vector for gene
expression experiments.7 The nucleotide
sequences were determined on both strands by the
dideoxynucleotide chain–termination method with a DNA
sequencer (model 4000L, LI-COR). Nucleotide and amino acid
sequences were analyzed and compared with other species
sequences by use of Gene Works software (Intelligenetics) on a
Macintosh computer.
Preparation Ox-LDL
LDL (relative density 1.019 to 1.063) from fresh human plasma
was isolated by sequential ultracentrifugation, as
described previously.22 The oxidative modification of LDL
was carried out with 7.5 µmol/L CuSO4 in
EDTA-free PBS for 20 hours at 37°C.7 Oxidation was
monitored by measuring the amount of thiobarbituric acid–reactive
substances, 10 nmol malondialdehyde equivalent per milligram protein
in Ox-LDL.23 Agarose-gel electrophoresis showed increased
electrophoretic mobility and minimal aggregation of Ox-LDL particles.
Labeling of Ox-LDL with
1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine
perchlorate (DiI, Molecular Probes) was performed as
described.24
Transient Expression of Rabbit LOX-1
Rabbit LOX-1 cDNA was subcloned to pME18s expression vector.
HEK-293 and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were transiently
transfected with plasmid containing rabbit LOX-1 and empty pME18s
vector, respectively, by use of lipofectamine (GIBCO). Then, 48 hours
after transfection, the cells were prepared for examination of rabbit
LOX-1 expression.
DiI–Ox-LDL Binding and Internalization
The rabbit LOX-1–transfected HEK-293 cells, the
vector-transfected HEK-293 cells, and wild-type HEK-293 cells were
incubated with DiI-labeled Ox-LDL (3 µg/mL) in DMEM/10% FCS for 3
hours, washed 3 times with culture media, and fixed with 3.7%
formaldehyde in PBS. Fluorescence microscopy was performed to
detect DiI–Ox-LDL bound and internalized in cells.
Reverse Transcription–Polymerase Chain Reaction
The tissue was homogenized with a Polytron PT1200
homogenizer (Brinkmann) with 1 mL of Trizol solution
(GIBCO) per 100 mg of tissue. Total RNA was isolated from rabbit aortic
tissues by use of Trizol reagent. The amount of RNA isolated was
determined by measuring the absorbance at 260 nm. The integrity of the
RNA isolated was confirmed by electrophoresis on a 1.0% agarose gel
containing formaldehyde. Then, 1.0 µg of total RNA was
reverse-transcribed into cDNA in 50 µL reaction mixtures with the use
of 200 U of Superscript II RT (GIBCO) and random hexamer as a primer
according to the manufacturer’s protocol. As much as 5% of the
reverse-transcribed materials was amplified with LA-Taq DNA-polymerase
(Takara) by use of a primer pair specific to rabbit LOX-1 cDNA (sense
primer, 5'-caagaggctctgaagagaatgg-3'; antisense primer,
5'-tatgcacaggtgcctgaagg-3'). The PCR profile was set at 94°C for 40
seconds, 58°C for 1 minute, and 68°C for 1 minute for 30 cycles.
Also, primers for rabbit GAPDH (sense primer,
5'-gcgcctggtcaccagggctgctt-3'; antisense primer,
5'-tgccgaagt-ggtcgtggatgacct-3') were applied for 25
cycles as an internal control for the amount of RNA, RT efficiency, and
amplification variability. The amplified transcripts were visualized on
1.5% agarose gels with the use of ethidium bromide. Specific
amplification products of the expected size (344 bp for LOX-1 and
465 bp for GAPDH) were observed. Relative intensities of the bands of
interest were read by the FLA-2000 (Fujifilm) and
analyzed with MacBas V2.5 software (Fujifilm). The ratios of
LOX-1 mRNA to GAPDH mRNA were quantified.
Immunoblotting
The tissues were homogenized by use of the Polytron
PT1200 homogenizer with 1 mL of lysis buffer (50
mmol/L Tris-HCl, pH 7.5, 150 mmol/L NaCl, and 1% [vol/vol]
Nonidet P-40 with protease inhibitor cocktail tablets
[Boehringer]) per 100 mg of tissue. The lysates were
clarified by centrifuging at 16 000g for 15 minutes. The
protein concentration for each lysate was determined by using a BCA
protein assay kit (Pierce Chemical) with BSA as a standard. The
cultured cells were directly dissolved in lysis buffer. Then, the
samples were diluted with a 1/6 vol of Laemmli buffer (62.5 mmol/L
Tris-HCl, pH 6.8, 2% [wt/vol] SDS, 5% ß-mercaptoethanol, 10%
[vol/vol] glycerol, and 0.001% bromophenol blue). Equal amounts of
protein in the lysates were subjected to SDS–polyacrylamide
(10%) gel electrophoresis and blotted onto a polyvinylidene
difluoride membrane (Immobilon, Millipore). The membrane was
then incubated with Block Ace (Snow Brand) overnight to block
nonspecific binding sites. It was probed with a mice monoclonal
antibody against LOX-1 (No. 5-2).7 Then, the membrane
was incubated with biotinylated anti-mouse IgG (Vector Laboratories)
for 1 hour and washed with PBS containing 0.05% (vol/vol) Tween 20.
Visualization of the antigen was performed with a Vectastain Elite ABC
Kit (Vector Laboratories) and an Immunostain Kit
(Konica).
Generation of Rabbit–LOX-1 Antiserum
An antibody against rabbit LOX-1 (MS-069) was generated. The
cDNA fragment corresponding to the extracellular lectinlike domain of
rabbit LOX-1 (amino acids 112 to 278) was amplified by PCR and
subcloned into pQE31 vector (Qiagen), sequenced, and expressed in
Escherichia coli. The 6xHis-tagged fusion protein was
purified with Ni-NTA resin (Qiagen) and used as an antigen to immunize
guinea pigs. The antiserum was collected 10 days after the third
booster injections. Immunoreactivity of the serum was monitored by
ELISA. The specificity to rabbit LOX-1 was further confirmed by
cell-surface immunobinding to rabbit LOX-1–transfected CHO cells.
Immunocytochemistry
Rabbit LOX-1 cDNA was transiently transfected into CHO cells by
using lipofectamine as described. At 48 hours after transfection, the
cells were immunostained with anti-rabbit LOX-1 antiserum
(MS-069) or preimmune serum by the same method as the following
immunohistochemistry. The pME18s vector–transfected and untransfected
CHO cells were immunostained with the same antibody as the
control cells.
Immunohistochemistry
The dissected thoracic aortic arteries were kept submerged
in a bath of ice-cold PBS and cleaned thoroughly of adventitia. The
tissues were then embedded in OCT compound (Miles Laboratories) and
snap-frozen in isopentane cooled with dry ice. The samples were
sectioned serially at 6-µm thickness. Sections taken at the
equivalent site of thoracic aortas were used for comparing LOX-1
expression in JW and WHHL rabbit aortas. The first section was stained
with oil red O. The other sections were subjected to
immunohistochemical staining. Immunoperoxidase staining was performed
on the frozen sections placed on glass slides. In brief, after being
fixed with cold acetone, the sections were incubated with 0.1%
BSA–Tris-buffered saline containing 10% serum of the second
antibody–generated species for 30 minutes and then with primary
antibodies overnight at 4°C. To determine LOX-1 expression in normal
and WHHL rabbit aortas, we used the guinea pig anti-rabbit LOX-1
antiserum (MS-069). After being washed with 0.1% BSA—Tris-buffered
saline, they were incubated with biotinylated goat anti-guinea pig IgG
(Vector Laboratories) for 30 minutes and then washed again.
Endogenous peroxidase activity was blocked by incubation
with methanol containing 0.3% hydrogen peroxide, after which
avidin-biotin peroxidase complex (Vectastain ABC Elite Kit, Vector) was
added. Antibody binding was visualized with 3-amino-9-ethylcarbazole
from Dako, and the sections were counterstained with Mayer’s
hematoxylin. The localization and integrity of
endothelium were confirmed by
immunostaining with anti–von Willebrand factor
(vWF) polyclonal antibody (The Binding Site). RAM11 (Dako) was applied
for the staining of macrophages. The biotinylated secondary
antibodies were from Vector Laboratories.
Immunostaining with type- and class-matched nonimmune
IgGs (Funacoshi) served as a negative control for each antibody used in
the present study. Oil red O applied for lipid staining was
purchased from Wako Pure Chemicals. All immunostaining
studies were performed simultaneously with LOX-1 in
adjacent sections by the same method.
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Results |
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cDNA Cloning of Rabbit LOX-1
Four positive clones of rabbit LOX-1 cDNA were obtained by screening 5x105 plaques of the rabbit placenta cDNA library in
gt10 with the human LOX-1 cDNA coding region as a
probe under conditions of high stringency. The sequences exhibited
striking homology to the human and bovine LOX-1 cDNAs. The clone, rG,
which contained the entire coding region of rabbit LOX-1, is shown in
Figure 1
. The sequence spanned 1521
nucleotides and is composed of a 5' untranslated region of
36 nucleotides, an open reading frame of 834
nucleotides, and a 3' untranslated region of 651
nucleotides. The open reading frame encoded a protein
containing 278 amino acids with a Mr of
31 625.
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Sequence Alignment of Rabbit LOX-1 With Its Counterparts
The cDNAs encoding bovine, human, rat, and mouse LOX-1 have been
isolated.7 15 25 In nucleotide and amino acid
sequences, the rabbit LOX-1 showed the highest degree of homology to
human LOX-1 among all the species identified. The open reading frame
shared a marked similarity to human (76% identity) and bovine (72%
identity) LOX-1, respectively. The rabbit LOX-1 protein structure was
conserved with its counterparts, as determined from the deduced amino
acid sequences. It consisted of 4 functional domains: a lectinlike
domain located in the C-terminal region, a connecting neck domain, a
transmembrane domain, and an intracellular domain located in the
N-terminal region.
Expression of Rabbit LOX-1
An anti–LOX-1 antibody specifically detected a band with a mass
of 45 kDa in Western blot analysis of rabbit LOX-1–transfected
cells but not native or empty-vector–transfected cells (Figure 2a). The difference from the calculated
molecular weight may be due to glycosylation.7 Under
fluorescence microscopy, the LOX-1–transfected HEK-293 cells
displayed high activity of internalizing Ox-LDL. In contrast, the
wild-type and the mock-transfected HEK-293 cells consistently
lacked the activity (Figure 2b). Therefore, the ectopic
expression of rabbit LOX-1 in HEK-293 cells conferred the ability to
bind and take up Ox-LDL. This result confirmed that rabbit LOX-1
functions as a receptor for Ox-LDL.
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Upregulated Expression of LOX-1 in Aortas of WHHL Rabbits
We analyzed the in vivo regulation of LOX-1 expression in
WHHL rabbits. The serum total cholesterol concentration of
8-week-old WHHL rabbits was 24.2±1.1 mmol/L, which was markedly
higher than that in 8-week-old JW rabbits (1.2±0.2 mmol/L).
Extracts of 8-week-old WHHL and JW rabbit aortas were analyzed
by RT-PCR and Western blotting for LOX-1 expression. RT-PCR showed
specific amplification of the fragment of rabbit LOX-1 cDNA (344 bp).
Examined by RT-PCR, the basal level of LOX-1 gene expression in normal
JW aortas was minimal, whereas it was much more enhanced in the
atherogenic WHHL rabbit aortas. The amount of GAPDH, as an internal
control, was not changed (Figure 3).
Similarly, Western blotting confirmed the augmented expression of LOX-1
in atherogenic WHHL rabbit aortas compared with noninvolved normal JW
rabbit aortas (Figure 4). The apparent
size of LOX-1 in aortic tissues was 45 kDa, consistent with
the size in transfected cells. Removing endothelial
cells from the intima of WHHL rabbit aortas substantially reduced the
signals of LOX-1 in RT-PCR and Western blot analyses.
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P<0.01 vs values for WHHL with
endothelial cells (ECs).
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Localization of LOX-1 in Early Lesions of WHHL Rabbits
The precise localization of LOX-1 expression in aortic arteries of
JW and WHHL rabbits was determined by the
immunostaining of serial sections with the use of an
anti-rabbit LOX-1 antibody. The specificity was confirmed by the
immunostaining of rabbit LOX-1–transfected CHO cells
(Figure 5). In JW rabbit aortas free of
atherosclerosis, the expression of LOX-1 in the normal
aortic endothelial cells was undetectable by
immunohistochemistry (Figure 7B). Whereas, in the WHHL
rabbit aortas, LOX-1 was intensively expressed in the intima of early
atherosclerotic lesions (Figure 6C and 6D). The preimmune serum gave a negative staining of the lesions. The
intimal lesions were further stained with oil red O and infiltrated
macrophages (Figure 6A and 6B), the hallmark of early
fatty lesions. Although endothelial cells and
macrophages were stained positively for LOX-1 expression, the
most prominent signals were exhibited by endothelial
cells. More strikingly, in the nonlesion areas of WHHL rabbit aortas,
LOX-1 was also stained in the endothelium (Figure 7D).
In these regions, LOX-1 was clearly observed but without staining of
oil red O and macrophages, indicating the areas were
atherosclerosis free (Figure 7F and 7G). In the
adjacent sections, both WHHL and JW rabbit aortic
endothelial cells were similarly stained with vWF
antibody, confirming the integrity of endothelial cells
and identifying the LOX-1–positive cells as
endothelial cells (Figure 7A and 7C). These results
demonstrated that LOX-1 was accumulated in early atherosclerotic
lesions. The upregulation of LOX-1 in hyperlipidemic
conditions occurred before lesion formation; hence, the enhanced
expression of LOX-1 was potentially involved in atherogenesis.
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The leading risk factor for atherosclerosis is hypercholesterolemia.1 The WHHL rabbit has been used as a model for human atherosclerosis.18 The cellular events that occur during the progression of early vascular lesions in rabbits well resemble those of human atherosclerosis.20 21 26 In the present study, we have cloned and characterized rabbit LOX-1 cDNA. It shows high similarity to human LOX-1 in cDNA and amino acid sequences. Notably, the lectinlike domain was highly conserved among different species, especially the 6 repeats of cysteines. This is consistent with the predicted function as a recognition domain binding to the LOX-1 ligand, Ox-LDL, and consequently initiating the processes of internalization and phagocytosis.15 25 These results indicate that rabbit LOX-1 is a close homologue of human LOX-1 and suggest that analysis of its role in the rabbit model of atherosclerosis may provide significant insight into the prevalent human atherosclerotic diseases.27 28 Interestingly, we found that the structure of the neck domain varies among different species. Rabbit LOX-1 contains only 1 repeating unit, as do human LOX-1 and bovine LOX-1, whereas rat and mouse LOX-1 possess triple repeats in the neck domain.15 25 Each repeat unit consists of 46 amino acid residues that are highly conserved. The neck domain separates the transmembrane domain from the functional lectinlike domain. The triple repeats enable rat and mouse LOX-1 to possess a neck domain that is longer than the rabbit, bovine, and human LOX-1. Although the structure-function relation for the length of the neck domain has not been characterized, the relatively short neck domain in atherosclerosis-susceptible species might be of significance in the interaction with Ox-LDL.
To define the potential role of LOX-1 in relation to early atherogenesis, we took advantage of WHHL rabbits aged 8 weeks, when most of the lesions were in the critical early stages.20 21 26 LOX-1 expression in WHHL rabbit aortas was enhanced compared with that in normal rabbit aortas. The expression was primarily within the intima, as displayed by immunostaining. In the initial atherosclerotic lesions, luminal endothelial cells and infiltrated macrophages were positive for LOX-1 expression. The most intense signals were exhibited by endothelial cells, as confirmed by staining with vWF, a specific endothelial cell marker. In addition, endothelial denudation markedly reduced LOX-1 signals, as examined by RT-PCR and Western blotting. Therefore, in the 8-week-old WHHL rabbit aortas, endothelial cells were the major source of LOX-1. The accumulation of LOX-1 in the proatherogenic aortas under hyperlipidemia directly suggests an important function of LOX-1 in early atherogenesis. More important, the upregulation of LOX-1 was not confined to lesions, it was also exhibited by noninvolved WHHL rabbit aortas. Therefore, the onset of this process seems to be an extremely early event in atherogenesis, even preceding lesion formation. These findings might provide the missing piece of the long-standing puzzle behind endothelial activation/dysfunction mediated by Ox-LDL in the absence of atherosclerotic lesions.3 17 29
The augmentation of LOX-1 in WHHL rabbit aortas could be due to a
direct upregulation of the LOX-1 gene by severe
hyperlipidemia alone or together with other
pathological circumstances. Previous studies have demonstrated that
LOX-1 expression can be induced by shear stress, tumor necrosis
factor-, and phorbol 12-myristate,13-acetate in
vitro.9 10 11 Furthermore, LOX-1 was upregulated by Ox-LDL
in cultured vascular endothelial cells.12
Relevant to these findings in vitro, a working hypothesis might be
suggested that LOX-1 expression in vivo is enhanced under
atherosclerosis-related conditions, such as vessel
bifurcation, hyperlipidemia, and even
atherosclerosis lesion formation, per se, when
intrinsic inflammatory cytokines are involved. Hence, LOX-1
would be involved in initiating and promoting the vicious cycles of
atherogenic processes.
The expression of LOX-1 in macrophages has been demonstrated
previously.11 30 31 The expression of LOX-1 in monocytes
seems relatively lower than that in differentiated
macrophages30 and is also induced by tumor
necrosis factor-, as in endothelial
cells.9 31 More recently, we have reported the expression
of LOX-1 in the advanced atherosclerotic lesions of human carotid
arteries.16 In the human fibrofatty atheromas,
significant staining of LOX-1 was colocalized with the accumulated
macrophages and smooth muscle cells. Thus, these findings
support the potential roles of LOX-1 in macrophages and
macrophage-derived foam cells in atherosclerotic
lesions.16
In conclusion, we have cloned rabbit LOX-1 and demonstrated increased expression in endothelial cells in the initial atherosclerotic lesions. The upregulation of LOX-1 would be one of the early events in the initiation of atherogenesis and other related diseases. Endothelial dysfunction in the early atherosclerotic lesions was reversible by therapeutic intervention.2 3 32 Inhibition of LOX-1 expression or activity would be a target for such maneuvers.
Received February 2, 1999; accepted October 20, 1999.
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