Sphingosylphosphorylcholine stimulates CCL2 production from human umbilical vein endothelial cells

HY Lee, SY Lee, SD Kim, JW Shim, HJ Kim… - The Journal of …, 2011 - journals.aai.org
HY Lee, SY Lee, SD Kim, JW Shim, HJ Kim, YS Jung, JY Kwon, SH Baek, J Chung, YS Bae
The Journal of Immunology, 2011journals.aai.org
Sphingosylphosphorylcholine (SPC) is a component of high-density lipoprotein particles.
We investigated the functional role of SPC in HUVECs. SPC stimulation induced production
of the CCL2 chemokine in a PTX-sensitive G-protein–dependent manner. SPC treatment
caused the activation of NF-κB and AP-1, which are essential for SPC-induced CCL2
production, and induced the activation of three MAPKs, ERK, p38 MAPK, and JNK. Inhibition
of p38 MAPK or JNK by specific inhibitors caused a dramatic decrease in SPC-induced …
Abstract
Sphingosylphosphorylcholine (SPC) is a component of high-density lipoprotein particles. We investigated the functional role of SPC in HUVECs. SPC stimulation induced production of the CCL2 chemokine in a PTX-sensitive G-protein–dependent manner. SPC treatment caused the activation of NF-κB and AP-1, which are essential for SPC-induced CCL2 production, and induced the activation of three MAPKs, ERK, p38 MAPK, and JNK. Inhibition of p38 MAPK or JNK by specific inhibitors caused a dramatic decrease in SPC-induced CCL2 production. The Jak/STAT3 pathway was also activated upon SPC stimulation of HUVECs. Pretreatment with a Jak inhibitor blocked not only SPC-induced p38 MAPK and JNK activation, but also NF-κB and AP-1 activation. Our results suggest that SPC stimulates HUVECs, resulting in Jak/STAT3–, NF-κB–, and AP-1–mediated CCL2 production. We also observed that SPC stimulated expression of the adhesion molecule ICAM-1 in HUVECs. Our results suggest that SPC may contribute to atherosclerosis; therefore, SPC and its unidentified target receptor offer a starting point for the development of a treatment for atherosclerosis.
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