C/EBP-ß Is Differentially Affected by PPARα Agonists Fenofibric Acid and GW7647, But Does Not Change Apolipoprotein A-I Production During ER-Stress and Inflammation.

Increasing apolipoproteinA-I (apoA-I) production may be anti-atherogenic. Thus, there is a need to identify regulatory factors involved. Transcription of apoA-I involves peroxisome-proliferator-activated-receptor-alpha (PPARα) activation, but endoplasmic reticulum (ER) -stress and inflammation also influence apoA-I production. To unravel why PPARα agonist GW7647 increased apoA-I production compared to PPARα agonist fenofibric acid (FeAc) in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) and colorectal adenocarcinoma (CaCo-2) cells, gene expression profiles were compared. Microarray analyses suggested CCAAT/enhancer-binding-protein-beta (C/EBP-ß) involvement in the FeAc condition. Therefore, C/EBP-ß silencing and isoform-specific overexpression experiments were performed under ER-stressed, inflammatory and non-inflammatory conditions. mRNA expression of C/EBP-ß, ATF3, NF-IL3 and GDF15 were upregulated by FeAc compared to GW7647 in both cell lines, while DDIT3 and DDIT4 mRNA were only upregulated in HepG2 cells. This ER-stress related signature was associated with decreased apoA-I secretion. After ER-stress induction by thapsigargin or FeAc addition, intracellular apoA-I concentrations decreased, while ER-stress marker expression (CHOP, XBP1s, C/EBP-ß) increased. Cytokine addition increased intracellular C/EBP-ß levels and lowered apoA-I concentrations. Although a C/EBP binding place is present in the apoA-I promoter, C/EBP-ß silencing or isoform-specific overexpression did not affect apoA-I production in inflammatory, non-inflammatory and ER-stressed conditions. Therefore, C/EBP-ß is not a target to influence hepatic apoA-I production. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 754-763, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Vascular potency of Sus scrofa bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells: a progenitor source of medial but not endothelial cells.

Short-term thrombotic occlusion and compliance mismatch hamper clinical use of synthetic small-diameter tissue engineered vascular grafts. It is felt that preconditioning of the graft with intimal (endothelial) and medial (vascular smooth muscle) cells contributes to patency of the graft. Autologous, non-vessel-derived cells are preferred because of systemic vascular pathology and immunologic concerns. We tested in a porcine model whether cultured bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells, also referred to as mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), are a potential source of intimal or medial cells in vascular tissue engineering. We show that MSC cultured in endothelial medium do not gain an endothelial phenotype or functional characteristics, even after enrichment for CD31, culturing under flow, treatment with additional growth factors (vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-2), or co-culture with microvascular endothelial cells (EC). On the other hand, we show that MSC cultured in MSC medium, but not in smooth muscle cell medium, show phenotypical and functional characteristics of vascular smooth muscle cells. We conclude that bone marrow-derived MSCs can be used as a bona fide source of medial, but not EC in small-diameter vascular tissue engineering.

Differentiated CaCo-2 cells as an in-vitro model to evaluate de-novo apolipoprotein A-I production in the small intestine.

BACKGROUND: Increasing HDL cholesterol concentrations by stimulating de-novo apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) production in the liver and/or in the small intestine is a potential strategy to reduce coronary heart disease risk. Although there is quite some knowledge concerning regulatory effects in the liver, less is known concerning potential agents that could elevate de-novo apoA-I production in the small intestine. METHODS: Therefore, we compared side-by-side effects of various peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)alpha, PPARgamma, retinoid-X-receptor alpha, and farnesoid-X-receptor agonists on de-novo apoA-I production in differentiated CaCo-2 and HepG2 cells. RESULTS: For PPARa agonists, we showed that GW7647 elevated apoA-I concentrations in the medium of both cell models, whereas WY14643 elevated only de-novo apoA-I concentrations in differentiated CaCo-2 cells. Unexpectedly, fenofibric acid lowered apoA-I medium concentrations in both cell lines, which could not be explained by a lack of PPAR transactivation or a lack of retinoid-X-receptor a activation. For farnesoid-X-receptor agonists, chenodeoxycholic acid strongly reduced apoA-I concentrations both in differentiated CaCo-2 and HepG2 cells, whereas GW4064 and taurocholate only lowered apoA-I in CaCo-2 cells (GW4064) or in HepG2 cells (taurocholate). However, overall effects of all individual components on apoA-I production in differentiated CaCo-2 and HepG2 cells were highly correlated (r = 0.68; P = 0.037; N=9). CONCLUSION: We conclude that differentiated CaCo-2 cells are suitable models to study de-novo small intestinal apoA-I production in vitro enabling the possibility to screen for potential bioactive dietary components. This cell model may also determine small-intestinal-specific effects, as some discrepancy was found between both cell models.

Effects of emulsified policosanols with different chain lengths on cholesterol metabolism in heterozygous LDL receptor-deficient mice.

Policosanol is a mixture of long-chain primary aliphatic saturated alcohols. Previous studies in humans and animals have shown that these compounds improved lipoprotein profiles. However, more-recent placebo-controlled studies could not confirm these promising effects. Octacosanol (C28), the main component of sugarcane-derived policosanol, is assumed to be the bioactive component. This has, however, never been tested in an in vivo study that compared individual policosanol components side by side. Here we present that neither the individual policosanol components (C24, C26, C28, or C30) nor the natural policosanol mixture (all 30 mg/100 g diet) lowered serum cholesterol concentrations in LDL receptor knock-out (LDLr(+/-)) mice. Moreover, there was no effect on gene expression profiles of LDLr, ABCA1, HMG-CoA synthase 1, and apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) in hepatic and small intestinal tissue of female LDLr(+/-) mice after the 7 week intervention period. Finally, none of the individual policosanols or their respective long-chain fatty acids or aldehydes affected de novo apoA-I protein production in vitro in HepG2 and CaCo-2 cells. Therefore, we conclude that the evaluated individual policosanols, as well as the natural policosanol mixture, have no potential for reducing coronary heart disease risk through effects on serum lipoprotein concentrations.

Increasing apoA-I production as a target for CHD risk reduction.

Dyslipidemia leading to coronary heart diseases (CHD) enables venues to prevent or treat CHD by other strategies than only lowering serum LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations, which is currently the most frequently targeted change. Unlike LDL-C, elevated high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) concentrations may protect against the development of CHD as demonstrated in numerous large-scale epidemiological studies. In this review we describe that besides elevating serum HDL-C concentrations by increasing alpha-HDL particles, approaches to elevate HDL-C concentrations by increasing pre-beta HDL particle concentrations seems more attractive. Besides infusion of apoA-I(Milano), using apoA-I mimetics, or delipidation of alpha-HDL particles, elevating de novo apoA-I production may be a suitable target to functionally increase pre-beta HDL particle concentrations. Therefore, a detailed description of the molecular pathways underlying apoA-I synthesis and secretion, completed with an overview of known effects of pharmacological and nutritional compounds on apoA-I synthesis will be presented. This knowledge may ultimately be applied in developing dietary intervention strategies to elevate apoA-I production and serum HDL-C concentrations and consequently lower CHD risk.