Human mast cell neutral proteases generate modified LDL particles with increased proteoglycan binding

Background and aims: Subendothelial interaction of LDL with extracellular matrix drives atherogenesis. This interaction can be strengthened by proteolytic modification of LDL. Mast cells (MCs) are present in atherosclerotic lesions, and upon activation, they degranulate and release a variety of neutral proteases. Here we studied the ability of MC proteases to cleave apoB-100 of LDL and affect the binding of LDL to proteoglycans. Methods: Mature human MCs were differentiated from human peripheral blood-derived CD34(+) progenitors in vitro and activated with calcium ionophore to generate MC-conditioned medium. LDL was incubated in the MC-conditioned medium or with individual MC proteases, and the binding of native and modified LDL to isolated human aortic proteoglycans or to human atherosclerotic plaques ex vivo was determined. MC proteases in atherosclerotic human coronary artery lesions were detected by immunofluorescence and qPCR. Results: Activated human MCs released the neutral proteases tryptase, chymase, carboxypeptidase A3, cathepsin G, and granzyme B. Of these, cathepsin G degraded most efficiently apoB-100, induced LDL fusion, and enhanced binding of LDL to isolated human aortic proteoglycans and human atherosclerotic lesions ex vivo. Double immunofluoresence staining of human atherosclerotic coronary arteries for tryptase and cathepsin G indicated that lesional MCs contain cathepsin G. In the lesions, expression of cathepsin G correlated with the expression of tryptase and chymase, but not with that of neutrophil proteinase 3. Conclusions: The present study suggests that cathepsin G in human atherosclerotic lesions is largely derived from MCs and that activated MCs may contribute to atherogenesis by enhancing LDL retention. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Carboxyl-Terminal Cleavage of Apolipoprotein A-I by Human Mast Cell Chymase Impairs Its Anti-Inflammatory Properties

Objective Apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) has been shown to possess several atheroprotective functions, including inhibition of inflammation. Protease-secreting activated mast cells reside in human atherosclerotic lesions. Here we investigated the effects of the neutral proteases released by activated mast cells on the anti-inflammatory properties of apoA-I. Approach and Results Activation of human mast cells triggered the release of granule-associated proteases chymase, tryptase, cathepsin G, carboxypeptidase A, and granzyme B. Among them, chymase cleaved apoA-I with the greatest efficiency and generated C-terminally truncated apoA-I, which failed to bind with high affinity to human coronary artery endothelial cells. In tumor necrosis factor--activated human coronary artery endothelial cells, the chymase-cleaved apoA-I was unable to suppress nuclear factor-B-dependent upregulation of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and to block THP-1 cells from adhering to and transmigrating across the human coronary artery endothelial cells. Chymase-cleaved apoA-I also had an impaired ability to downregulate the expression of tumor necrosis factor-, interleukin-1, interleukin-6, and interleukin-8 in lipopolysaccharide-activated GM-CSF (granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor)- and M-CSF (macrophage colony-stimulating factor)-differentiated human macrophage foam cells and to inhibit reactive oxygen species formation in PMA (phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate)-activated human neutrophils. Importantly, chymase-cleaved apoA-I showed reduced ability to inhibit lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation in vivo in mice. Treatment with chymase blocked the ability of the apoA-I mimetic peptide L-4F, but not of the protease-resistant D-4F, to inhibit proinflammatory gene expression in activated human coronary artery endothelial cells and macrophage foam cells and to prevent reactive oxygen species formation in activated neutrophils. Conclusions The findings identify C-terminal cleavage of apoA-I by human mast cell chymase as a novel mechanism leading to loss of its anti-inflammatory functions. When targeting inflamed protease-rich atherosclerotic lesions with apoA-I, infusions of protease-resistant apoA-I might be the appropriate approach.Peer reviewe

Conformational changes of apoB-100 in SMase-modified LDL mediate formation of large aggregates at acidic pH

Peer reviewe

The effect of intakes of fish and Camelina sativa oil on atherogenic and anti-atherogenic functions of LDL and HDL particles : A randomized controlled trial

Background and aims: Omega-3 fatty acids are known to have several cardioprotective effects. Our aim was to investigate the effects of intakes of fish and Camelina sativa oil (CSO), rich in alpha-linolenic acid, on the atherogenic and anti-atherogenic functions of LDL and HDL particles. Methods: Altogether, 88 volunteers with impaired glucose metabolism were randomly assigned to CSO (10 g of alpha-linolenic acid/day), fatty fish (4 fish meals/week), lean fish (4 fish meals/week) or control group for 12 weeks. 79 subjects completed the study. The binding of lipoproteins to aortic proteoglycans, LDL aggregation and activation of endothelial cells by LDL and cholesterol efflux capacity of HDL were determined in vitro. Results: Intake of CSO decreased the binding of lipoproteins to aortic proteoglycans in a non-normalized model (p = 0.006). After normalizing with serum concentrations of non-HDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein B (apoB) or LDL cholesterol, which decreased in the CSO group, the change was no longer statistically significant. In the fish groups, there were no changes in the binding of lipoproteins to proteoglycans. Regarding other lipoprotein functions, there were no changes in any of the groups. Conclusions: Intake of CSO decreases the binding of lipoproteins to aortic proteoglycans by decreasing serum LDL cholesterol concentration, which suggests that the level of apoB-containing lipoproteins in the circulation is the main driver of lipoprotein retention within the arterial wall. Intake of fish or CSO has no effects on other lipoprotein functions.Peer reviewe

Apolipoprotein A-I mimetic peptide 4F blocks sphingomyelinase-induced LDL aggregation

Lipolytic modification of LDL particles by SMase generates LDL aggregates with a strong affinity for human arterial proteoglycans and may so enhance LDL retention in the arterial wall. Here, we evaluated the effects of apoA-I mimetic peptide 4F on structural and functional properties of the SMase-modified LDL particles. LDL particles with and without 4F were incubated with SMase, after which their aggregation, structure, and proteoglycan binding were analyzed. At a molar ratio of L-4F to apoB-100 of 2.5 to 20: 1, 4F dose-dependently inhibited SMase-induced LDL aggregation. At a molar ratio of 20: 1, SMase-induced aggregation was fully blocked. Binding of 4F to LDL particles inhibited SMase-induced hydrolysis of LDL by 10% and prevented SMase-induced LDL aggregation. In addition, the binding of the SMase-modifi ed LDL particles to human aortic proteoglycans was dose-dependently inhibited by pretreating LDL with 4F. The 4F stabilized apoB-100 conformation and inhibited SMase-induced conformational changes of apoB-100. Molecular dynamic simulations showed that upon binding to protein-free LDL surface, 4F locally alters membrane order and fluidity and induces structural changes to the lipid layer. Collectively, 4F stabilizes LDL particles by preventing the SMase-induced conformational changes in apoB-100 and so blocks SMase-induced LDL aggregation and the resulting increase in LDL retention.Peer reviewe

Beneficial effect of oleoylated lipids on paraoxonase 1: protection against oxidative inactivation and stabilization.

The effect of lipids on PON1 (paraoxonase 1), one of antioxidant proteins in high-density lipoprotein, was investigated in respect to inhibition, protection against oxidative inactivation, and stabilization. When the effect of lipids on the PON1 activity was examined, a remarkable inhibition was expressed by polyenoic fatty acids (C18:2-C20:5). Linoleic acid, the most potent ( K(i), 3.8 microM), showed competitive inhibition. Next, various lipids were examined for prevention against the inactivation of PON1 by ascorbate/Cu2+, which caused a remarkable (>or =90%) inactivation of PON1. Compared with saturated fatty acids (C6-C18), exhibiting a modest protection (9-40%), monoenoic acids (C16:1-C20:1) showed a greater maximal protective effect (Emax, 70-82%), with oleic acid being the most effective (EC50, 2.7 microM). In contrast, polyenoic acids showed no protection. Noteworthy, linoleic acid prohibited the protective action of oleic acid non-competitively. In the structure-activity relationship, a negatively charged group seems to be required for the protective action. Consistent with this, dioleoylphosphatidylglycerol, negatively charged, was more protective than dioleoylphosphatidylcholine. These data, together with requirement of Ca2+ (EC50, 0.6 microM) for the protective action, may support the existence of a specific site responsible for the protective action. A similar protective action of lipids was also observed in the inactivation of PON1 by ascorbate/Fe2+, peroxides or p -hydroxymercuribenzoate. Separately, PON1 was stabilized by oleic acid or oleoylated phospholipids, in combination with Ca2+, but not linoleic acid. These results suggest that in contrast to an adverse action of linoleic acid, monoenoic acids or their phospholipid derivatives play a beneficial role in protecting PON1 from oxidative inactivation as well as in stabilizing PON1