Cited by 41Atherosclerosis and Cardiovascular DiseasesChemokine receptors and signalingNitric Oxide and Endothelin Effects

Endothelial ACKR3 drives atherosclerosis by promoting immune cell adhesion to vascular endothelium

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Gencer, Selin, Döring, Yvonne, Jansen, Yvonne, Bayasgalan, Soyolmaa, Yan, Yi, Bianchini, Mariaelvy, Cimen, Ismail, Müller, Madeleine +8 more·2022·Basic Research in Cardiology

Abstract

Atherosclerosis is the foundation of potentially fatal cardiovascular diseases and it is characterized by plaque formation in large arteries. Current treatments aimed at reducing atherosclerotic risk factors still allow room for a large residual risk; therefore, novel therapeutic candidates targeting inflammation are needed. The endothelium is the starting point of vascular inflammation underlying atherosclerosis and we could previously demonstrate that the chemokine axis CXCL12–CXCR4 plays an important role in disease development. However, the role of ACKR3, the alternative and higher affinity receptor for CXCL12 remained to be elucidated. We studied the role of arterial ACKR3 in atherosclerosis using western diet-fed Apoe−/− mice lacking Ackr3 in arterial endothelial as well as smooth muscle cells. We show for the first time that arterial endothelial deficiency of ACKR3 attenuates atherosclerosis as a result of diminished arterial adhesion as well as invasion of immune cells. ACKR3 silencing in inflamed human coronary artery endothelial cells decreased adhesion molecule expression, establishing an initial human validation of ACKR3’s role in endothelial adhesion. Concomitantly, ACKR3 silencing downregulated key mediators in the MAPK pathway, such as ERK1/2, as well as the phosphorylation of the NF-kB p65 subunit. Endothelial cells in atherosclerotic lesions also revealed decreased phospho-NF-kB p65 expression in ACKR3-deficient mice. Lack of smooth muscle cell-specific as well as hematopoietic ACKR3 did not impact atherosclerosis in mice. Collectively, our findings indicate that arterial endothelial ACKR3 fuels atherosclerosis by mediating endothelium-immune cell adhesion, most likely through inflammatory MAPK and NF-kB pathways.

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Authors
Gencer, S., Döring, Y., Jansen, Y., Bayasgalan, S., Yan, Y., Bianchini, M., Cimen, I., Müller, M., Peters, L. J. F., Megens, R. T. A., von Hundelshausen, P., Duchene, J., Lemnitzer, P., Soehnlein, O., Weber, C., & van der Vorst, E. P. C.
Affiliations
  • Institut für Prophylaxe und Epidemiologie der Kreislaufkrankheiten (DE)
  • University of Bern (CH)
  • German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DE)
  • Maastricht University (NL)
  • Maastricht University Medical Centre (NL)
  • University of Münster (DE)
Corresponding author
Döring, Yvonne
Venue
Basic Research in Cardiology
Published
2022-06-08
Volume
117
Issue
1
Pages
30-30
ISSN
  • 0003-9217 (ISSN-L)
  • 0300-8428
  • 1435-1803
OpenAlex
W4281887363
Cited by
41
References
68
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 8
FWCI
5.63
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Basic Research in Cardiology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Publications (Maastricht University) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Bern Open Repository and Information System (University of Bern) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Open access LMU (Ludwid Maxmilian's Universitat Munchen) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • mediaTUM (Technical University of Munich) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • RWTH Publications (RWTH Aachen) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Research Publications (Maastricht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • RWTH Publications (RWTH Aachen)
Funders
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB1123)
  • RWTH Aachen University
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Atherosclerosis and Cardiovascular Diseases
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Chemokine receptors and signaling
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Nitric Oxide and Endothelin Effects
Keywords
CXCR7, atherosclerosis, endothelial cells, immune cell adhesion, CXCL12/CXCR4 axis, vascular inflammation, NF-κB signaling, MAPK signaling, ERK1/2, coronary artery endothelial cells, ApoE-deficient mice, smooth muscle cells, hematopoietic cells
MeSH terms
Mice, Knockout, ApoE, Animals, Cell Adhesion, Endothelium, Vascular, Inflammation, Endothelial Cells, Atherosclerosis, Mice, Transcription Factor RelA, Receptors, CXCR, Plaque, Atherosclerotic

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