AIM:To investigate the impact of interleukin-17(IL-17D)knockout on lipid phagocytosis in ath-erosclerosis(AS)and bone marrow-derived macrophages.METHODS:Twenty 8-week-old ApoE-/-C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups(10 mice per group).The experimental group was subjected to a high-fat diet for 8 weeks to induce AS,while the control group received a normal diet.Additionally,fifteen 8-week-old ApoE-/-IL-17D-/-and ApoE-/-mice were also fed a high-fat diet for the same duration.Body weight and blood lipid levels were measured.Aortas were harvested,and IL-17D expression was assessed using RT-qPCR.Bone marrow cells were iso-lated and differentiated into macrophages with colony-stimulating factors.Oil red O staining was employed to visualize lip-id deposition in aortic plaques and macrophages.To stimulate macrophages,oxidized low-density lipoprotein(oxLDL)was used,and RT-qPCR along with Western blot analyses were conducted to evaluate the expression of lipid phagocytosis-related genes and the p38 MAPK signaling pathway.Dehydrocorydaline(DHC),a p38 MAPK activator,was adminis-tered to IL-17D-/-macrophages,and the expression of CD36 and lipid phagocytosis were assessed.RESULTS:IL-17D ex-pression was significantly elevated in the aortas of AS mice and in oxLDL-treated macrophages(P<0.01).IL-17D-/-mice exhibited notably lower serum total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels(P<0.01),along with a sig-nificant reduction in plaque area in the aortas and aortic roots(P<0.01).Macrophages lacking IL-17D demonstrated de-creased expression of CD36,LOX-1,IL-1β,and IL-6(P<0.01)and showed diminished lipid phagocytosis.These mac-rophages also exhibited reduced phosphorylation of p38(P<0.01)compared to wild-type macrophages.Activation of p38 MAPK by DHC significantly countered the inhibitory effects of IL-17D knockout on CD36 expression(P<0.01)and en-hanced lipid phagocytosis in macrophages.CONCLUSION:Knockout of IL-17D may modulate lipid phagocytosis in macro-phages via the p38/CD36 signaling pathway,potentially inhibiting the formation and progression of aortic plaques in mice.

AIM:To investigate the role of NLR family CARD domain containing 3(NLRC3)in endothelial cells and evaluate its diagnostic value in coronary artery disease.METHODS:Twenty male ApoE-/-C57BL/6 mice,aged eight weeks,were randomly assigned into two groups:an experimental group and a control group,with each group com-prising ten mice.The experimental group was subjected to a high-fat diet for 8 weeks to induce atherosclerosis(AS),whereas the control group was maintained on a standard diet.The expression of NLRC3 in the aorta was evaluated using RT-qPCR and immunofluorescence techniques.Additionally,human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs)were ex-posed to interleukin-1β(IL-1β)to investigate the expression levels of NLRC3.Lentiviral vectors or plasmid vectors were employed to either overexpress or knock down NLRC3 in endothelial cells,and subsequently subjected to inflammation in-duced by IL-1β.The RT-qPCR and ELISA were employed to assess the impact of NLRC3 on inflammation in endothelial cells.Western blot and immunofluorescence techniques were utilized to investigate the modulation of the NF-κB signaling pathway in endothelial cells by NLRC3.Plasma NLRC3 levels in coronary artery disease patients and healthy controls were measured using ELISA,and its diagnostic potential was assessed through ROC curve analysis.RESULTS:In AS mice,distinct plaque lesions were observed in the aorta,accompanied by a significantly reduced expression of NLRC3 in the aortic arch relative to the control group.Expression of NLRC3 exhibited a significant down-regulation in IL-1β-stimu-lated HUVECs,demonstrating both time-dependent and dose-dependent effects(P<0.01).Overexpression of NLRC3 markedly suppressed the levels of IL-6,IL-8,monocyte chemoatbactant protein-1(MCP-1),p-p65,and p-IκBα in endo-thelial cells stimulated with IL-1β(P<0.01).Conversely,knockdown of NLRC3 resulted in elevated levels of IL-6,IL-8,MCP-1,p-p65 and p-IκBα in endothelial cells(P<0.01).Coronary artery disease patients had significantly lower plasma NLRC3 levels than controls,with an AUC of 0.851(95%CI:0.785～0.918,P<0.01).A diagnostic threshold of 1.605 μg/L yielded a sensitivity of 93.8%and a specificity of 71.3%.CONCLUSION:The NLRC3 may modulate endothelial inflammation and suppress AS progression through inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway,and it holds potential as a diagnostic biomarker for coronary artery disease.

AIM:To investigate the impact of interleukin-17(IL-17D)knockout on lipid phagocytosis in ath-erosclerosis(AS)and bone marrow-derived macrophages.METHODS:Twenty 8-week-old ApoE-/-C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups(10 mice per group).The experimental group was subjected to a high-fat diet for 8 weeks to induce AS,while the control group received a normal diet.Additionally,fifteen 8-week-old ApoE-/-IL-17D-/-and ApoE-/-mice were also fed a high-fat diet for the same duration.Body weight and blood lipid levels were measured.Aortas were harvested,and IL-17D expression was assessed using RT-qPCR.Bone marrow cells were iso-lated and differentiated into macrophages with colony-stimulating factors.Oil red O staining was employed to visualize lip-id deposition in aortic plaques and macrophages.To stimulate macrophages,oxidized low-density lipoprotein(oxLDL)was used,and RT-qPCR along with Western blot analyses were conducted to evaluate the expression of lipid phagocytosis-related genes and the p38 MAPK signaling pathway.Dehydrocorydaline(DHC),a p38 MAPK activator,was adminis-tered to IL-17D-/-macrophages,and the expression of CD36 and lipid phagocytosis were assessed.RESULTS:IL-17D ex-pression was significantly elevated in the aortas of AS mice and in oxLDL-treated macrophages(P<0.01).IL-17D-/-mice exhibited notably lower serum total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels(P<0.01),along with a sig-nificant reduction in plaque area in the aortas and aortic roots(P<0.01).Macrophages lacking IL-17D demonstrated de-creased expression of CD36,LOX-1,IL-1β,and IL-6(P<0.01)and showed diminished lipid phagocytosis.These mac-rophages also exhibited reduced phosphorylation of p38(P<0.01)compared to wild-type macrophages.Activation of p38 MAPK by DHC significantly countered the inhibitory effects of IL-17D knockout on CD36 expression(P<0.01)and en-hanced lipid phagocytosis in macrophages.CONCLUSION:Knockout of IL-17D may modulate lipid phagocytosis in macro-phages via the p38/CD36 signaling pathway,potentially inhibiting the formation and progression of aortic plaques in mice.

AIM:To investigate the role of NLR family CARD domain containing 3(NLRC3)in endothelial cells and evaluate its diagnostic value in coronary artery disease.METHODS:Twenty male ApoE-/-C57BL/6 mice,aged eight weeks,were randomly assigned into two groups:an experimental group and a control group,with each group com-prising ten mice.The experimental group was subjected to a high-fat diet for 8 weeks to induce atherosclerosis(AS),whereas the control group was maintained on a standard diet.The expression of NLRC3 in the aorta was evaluated using RT-qPCR and immunofluorescence techniques.Additionally,human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs)were ex-posed to interleukin-1β(IL-1β)to investigate the expression levels of NLRC3.Lentiviral vectors or plasmid vectors were employed to either overexpress or knock down NLRC3 in endothelial cells,and subsequently subjected to inflammation in-duced by IL-1β.The RT-qPCR and ELISA were employed to assess the impact of NLRC3 on inflammation in endothelial cells.Western blot and immunofluorescence techniques were utilized to investigate the modulation of the NF-κB signaling pathway in endothelial cells by NLRC3.Plasma NLRC3 levels in coronary artery disease patients and healthy controls were measured using ELISA,and its diagnostic potential was assessed through ROC curve analysis.RESULTS:In AS mice,distinct plaque lesions were observed in the aorta,accompanied by a significantly reduced expression of NLRC3 in the aortic arch relative to the control group.Expression of NLRC3 exhibited a significant down-regulation in IL-1β-stimu-lated HUVECs,demonstrating both time-dependent and dose-dependent effects(P<0.01).Overexpression of NLRC3 markedly suppressed the levels of IL-6,IL-8,monocyte chemoatbactant protein-1(MCP-1),p-p65,and p-IκBα in endo-thelial cells stimulated with IL-1β(P<0.01).Conversely,knockdown of NLRC3 resulted in elevated levels of IL-6,IL-8,MCP-1,p-p65 and p-IκBα in endothelial cells(P<0.01).Coronary artery disease patients had significantly lower plasma NLRC3 levels than controls,with an AUC of 0.851(95%CI:0.785～0.918,P<0.01).A diagnostic threshold of 1.605 μg/L yielded a sensitivity of 93.8%and a specificity of 71.3%.CONCLUSION:The NLRC3 may modulate endothelial inflammation and suppress AS progression through inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway,and it holds potential as a diagnostic biomarker for coronary artery disease.

AIM:To analyze the expression profiles of long non-coding RNAs(lncRNAs)in the aortas of ath-erosclerotic mice,and explore the role and mechanism of lncRNA AI662270 in regulating macrophage inflammation and lipid phagocytosis.METHODS:Twenty 8-week-old male apolipoprotein E gene knockout(ApoE-/-)mice were randomly divided into experimental and control groups,with 10 mice in each group.The experimental group was fed a high-fat diet for 12 weeks to induce atherosclerosis,while the control group received a normal diet.Body weight and blood lipid levels were measured,and atherosclerotic lesions were detected using Oil Red O staining.High-throughput RNA sequencing(RNA-seq)was used to analyze the lncRNA expression profiles in mouse aortas,and differentially expressed lncRNAs were validated by RT-qPCR.Antisense oligonucleotides(ASO)were used to knock down the expression of lncRNA AI662270 in mouse macrophage RAW264.7 cells.Six treatment groups were established:blank(no treatment)group,ox-idized low-density lipoprotein(oxLDL)group(80 mg/L oxLDL),negative control ASO(ASO-NC)group(transfected with ASO-NC),oxLDL+ASO-NC group(transfected with ASO-NC and treated with 80 mg/L oxLDL),ASO-AI662270 group(transfected with ASO-AI662270),and oxLDL+ASO-AI662270 group(transfected with ASO-AI662270 and treated with 80 mg/L oxLDL).Tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)and interleukin-6(IL-6)levels were measured using Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).NF-κB p65,pNF-κB p65,IκBα and pIκBα levels were detected by Western blot,and NF-κB p65 in the cell nucleus was examined using fluorescent probes.RESULTS:The atherosclerosis mouse model showed significant differences in body weight,serum lipids,and aortic plaque area compared to the control group(P<0.01).A total of 29 differentially expressed lncRNAs were identified involved in metabolic pathways,autophagosome for-mation,and cell adhesion molecule expression(P<0.05).LncRNA AI662270 was significantly upregulated in lesions and oxLDL-stimulated macrophages(P<0.05).Knockdown of AI662270 significantly reduced TNF-α and IL-6 expression in oxLDL-induced RAW264.7 cells(P<0.01),suppressed lipid phagocytosis,and inhibited pNF-κB p65 and pIκBα ex-pression(P<0.05).Additionally,the knockdown of AI662270 reduced the nuclear content of NF-κB p65.CONCLU-SION:The lncRNA expression profiles in the aortas of atherosclerotic mice were significantly altered.LncRNA AI662270 is crucial in modulating inflammation and lipid phagocytosis in mouse macrophages through the NF-κB signaling pathway.

[ ABSTRACT ] AIM: To investigate the toxicity and reproductive effect of vascular endothelial growth factor ( VEGF)/basic fibroblast growth factor ( bFGF) complex peptide vaccine ( VBP3) on the female-mice.METHODS:The VBP3 was purified with Ni-NTA affinity chromatography.The female BALB/c mice were immunized with the purified VBP3.The antibody titer in the serum was detected by ELISA.The data of the body weight and the organ weight of the par-ent mice were gathered and analyzed, and the pathological changes of the organs were observed with HE staining to investi-gate the toxicity of VBP3.To investigate the toxicity of VBP3 in the F1 mice, the parent immunized female mice were ma-ted with the parent non-immunized male mice.After the F1 mice were born, the survival rate was calculated, the change of the body weight and the organ weight of the F1 mice were also determined.The pathological changes of the organs in F1 mice were also observed with HE staining.RESULTS: In the parent mice, high titers of the antibodies were detected against VEGF and bFGF, and no difference of the body weight, the organ weight and the pathological change between the immunized mice and control mice was found.In the F1 mice, a low titer of anti-bFGF antibody was detected compared with blank group.The survival rate in control group was higher than that in immunized group.In the 2 groups of the F1 mice, no obvious difference of the weight of the spleen, kidney, lung and heart was observed, and there was some difference in the weight of liver between the 2 groups.The results of the HE staining in the F1 mice showed some difference in the liver between the 2 groups.CONCLUSION:VEGF/bFGF complex peptide vaccine has no obvious organ toxicity in the parent female mice, but has some side effects on the reproductive and the healthy processes of F1 mice.