A sandwich ELISA for the detection of Wnt5a.

Wnt5a is a noncanonical member of the Wnt family of signaling molecules that has been linked to various physiological and pathological processes including cell differentiation, cell migration, cell growth, vascular remodeling, cancer and chronic inflammation. To understand the role of Wnt5a in these processes, it is necessary to determine the function and expression level of Wnt5a. In this study we developed a sensitive and specific sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detecting Wnt5a. We found that a rabbit anti-human Wnt5a is a suitable capture antibody for establishing a sandwich ELISA. We used two systems to detect Wnt5a: (1) goat anti-mouse Wnt5a and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) conjugated F(ab')(2) donkey anti-goat IgG as detection and enzyme-linked antibodies respectively, or (2) biotinylated goat anti-mouse Wnt5a and HRP-streptavidin as detection antibody and enzyme-linked avidin respectively. A sandwich ELISA using either of these systems failed to detect recombinant mouse (rm)-Wnt5a diluted in Hank's balanced salt solution supplemented with Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) and 1% bovine serum albumin (HBBS+, 1% BSA). Addition of polyethylene glycol (PEG) to the HBBS+, buffer during the binding stage of rm-Wnt5a, afforded the detection of rm-Wnt5a. The use of PEG during both the binding of rm-Wnt5a and detection antibody stages of the assay yielded the maximum signal for rm-Wnt5a. The relationship between the ELISA signal and concentration of Wnt5a was linear with an R(2) of 0.9934. In summary, we have developed a specific and sensitive sandwich ELISA that detects rm-Wnt5a.

Wnt5a is expressed in murine and human atherosclerotic lesions.

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease involving the accumulation of macrophages in the intima. Wnt5a is a noncanonical member of the Wnt family of secreted glycoproteins. Recently, human macrophages have been shown to express Wnt5a upon stimulation with bacterial pathogens in vitro and in granulomatous lesions in the lung of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected patients. Wnt5a expression has also been liked to Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4), an innate immune receptor implicated in atherosclerosis. These observations, along with the fact that Wnt5a is involved in cell migration and proliferation, led us to postulate that Wnt5a plays a role in atherosclerosis. To investigate this hypothesis, we characterized Wnt5a expression in murine and human atherosclerotic lesions. Tissue sections derived from the aortic sinus to the aortic arch of apolipoprotein E-deficient mice and sections derived from the carotid arteries of patients undergoing endarterectomy were subjected to immunohistochemical analysis. All samples were found to be positive for Wnt5a with predominant staining in the areas of macrophage accumulation within the intima. In parallel, we probed for the presence of TLR-4 and found coincident TLR-4 and Wnt5a expression. For both the Wnt5a and TLR-4 staining, consecutive tissue sections treated with an isotype- and species-matched Ig served as a negative control and exhibited little, if any, reactivity. Quantitative RT-PCR revealed that Wnt5a mRNA expression in RAW264.7 murine macrophages can be induced by stimulation with LPS, a known ligand for TLR-4. Combined, these findings demonstrate for the first time Wnt5a expression in human and murine atherosclerotic lesions and suggest that cross talk between TLR-4 and Wnt5a is operative in atherosclerosis.