Leukocyte migration from the blood into tissues is pivotal in immune homeostasis and in inflammation. During the multistep extravasation cascade, endothelial selectins (P-and E-selectin) and vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1), a cell-surfaceexpressed oxidase, are important in tethering and rolling. Here, we studied the signaling functions of the catalytic activity of VAP-1. Using human endothelial cells transfected with wild-type VAP-1 and an enzymatically inactive VAP-1 point mutant, we show that transcription and translation of E-and P-selectins are induced through the enzymatic activity of VAP-1. Moreover, use of VAP-1-deficient animals and VAP-1-deficient animals carrying the human VAP-1 as a transgene show a VAP-enzyme activity-dependent induction of P-selectin in vivo. Up-regulation of P-selectin was found both in high endothelial venules in lymphoid tissues and in flat-walled vessels in noninflamed tissues. VAP-1 activity in vivo led to in- IntroductionCoordinated function of the multistep leukocyte extravasation cascade is a prerequisite for leukocyte emigration from the blood into the tissue. Many adhesion and signaling molecules have well-established roles in this process. 1,2 On endothelial cells, selectins (P-selectin [CD62P] and E-selectin [CD62E]) mediate tethering of bloodborne cells to vascular endothelium, and the subsequent rolling along the endothelial lining in a sheardependent manner. 3 The rolling cells can be exposed to activating stimuli, such as chemokines, which can trigger firm, integrindependent adhesion of the leukocytes in the vessel. Finally, the leukocytes diapedese through the vessel wall using adhesion molecules from immunoglobulin and other superfamilies as well as local protease activity.In addition to these well-established interplayers, other molecules are involved in leukocyte trafficking. Among these, enzymes expressed on the cell surface that have their catalytic domains outside the plasma membrane (ectoenzymes) have emerging roles in leukocyte migration. 4 Vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1, also known as amine oxidase copper containing-3 [AOC3]) is an ectoenzyme that belongs to the specific subgroup of oxidases known as semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidases (SSAOs). 5,6 It catalyzes a reaction in which a primary amine is oxidatively deaminated into an aldehyde, and then hydrogen peroxide and ammonium are released. 7,8 VAP-1/SSAO is a bifunctional molecule that can support leukocyte adhesion under shear conditions via enzymeactivity-dependent and enzyme-activity-independent ways. 4 Monoclonal anti-VAP-1 antibodies that do not block its oxidase activity effectively block lymphocyte and granulocyte binding to endothelial cells in vitro and in vivo. Small-molecule SSAO enzyme inhibitors, on the other hand, are equally effective in perturbing leukocyte-endothelial contacts in vitro and in vivo. [9][10][11][12][13][14] The ability of the oxidase reaction to regulate the expression and/or function of other molecules involved in the emigration process is largely unknown.We h...

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Objective. Leukocyte traffic from the blood to the joints is crucial in the pathogenesis of arthritis. A bifunctional endothelial cell-surface glycoprotein, AOC3 (amine oxidase, copper-containing 3; also known as vascular adhesion protein 1), has both adhesive and enzymatic properties. We undertook this study to determine the contribution of AOC3 and its oxidase activity to leukocyte trafficking into inflamed joints in vivo.Methods. We used gene-modified animals, molecular modeling, an AOC3 enzyme inhibitor, oxidase assays, and arthritis models (adjuvant-induced arthritis [AIA] in rats and anti-type II collagen antibodyinduced arthritis in mice) to dissect the importance of AOC3 in vivo.Results. The AOC3 inhibitor fitted well with a covalent binding mode into the active site of the AOC3 crystal structure. It selectively blocked the oxidase activity of AOC3 in enzyme assays. Intraperitoneal and oral administration of the AOC3 inhibitor significantly ameliorated rat AIA. In anti-type II collagen antibodyinduced arthritis in mice, the AOC3 inhibitor also improved the outcome of the joint inflammation. The acute semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase blockade by the inhibitor had even more pronounced effects than genetic deletion of AOC3. Enzymatic analyses showed that the inhibitor also blocked 2 other structurally very closely related AOCs, but not any of more than 100 other enzymes tested.Conclusion. These are the first data to demonstrate that the enzymatic activity of the atypical endothelial adhesion molecule AOC3, and possibly that of other closely related ecto-oxidases, is crucial for leukocyte exit from the vessels in inflamed joints in vivo.

Semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) is an amine oxidase related to the copper-containing amine oxidase family. The tissular form of SSAO is located at the plasma membrane, and is mainly expressed in vascular smooth muscle cells and adipocytes. Recent studies have suggested that SSAO could activate glucose transport in fat cells. In the present work, we investigated the potential role of a chronic SSAO activation on adipocyte maturation of the 3T3-L1 pre-adipose cell line. Exposure of post-confluent 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes to methylamine, a physiological substrate of SSAO, promoted adipocyte differentiation in a time-and dose-dependent manner. This effect could be related to SSAO activation, since it was antagonized in

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Intravascular ATP and ADP are important regulators of vascular tone, thrombosis, inflammation, and angiogenesis. This study was undertaken to evaluate the contribution of purinergic signaling to disturbed vasodilation and vascular remodeling during atherosclerosis progression. We used apolipoprotein E-deficient (Apoe(-/-)) mice as an appropriate experimental model for atherosclerosis. Noninvasive transthoracic Doppler echocardiography imaging with adenosine, ATP, and other nucleotides and nonhydrolyzable P2 receptor agonists and antagonists suggests that ATP regulates coronary blood flow in mice through activation of P2Y (most likely, endothelial ATP/UTP-selective P2Y(2)) receptors, rather than via its dephosphorylation to adenosine. Strikingly, compared to age-matched wild-type controls, young (10- to 15-week-old) Apoe(-/-) mice displayed diminished coronary reactivity in response to ATP but not adenosine. The impaired hyperemic response to ATP persisted in older (20- to 30-week-old) Apoe(-/-) mice, which were additionally characterized by mild atherosclerosis (as ascertained by aortic Oil Red O staining) and a systemic increase in plasma ATP and ADP levels. Concurrent thin-layer chromatographic analysis of nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase (NTPDase) and ecto-5'-nucleotidase/CD73 activities in thoracic aortas, lymph nodes, spleen, and serum revealed that aortic NTPDase was decreased by 40% to 50% in a tissue-specific manner both in young and mature Apoe(-/-) mice. Collectively, disordered purinergic signaling in Apoe(-/-) mice may serve as important prerequisite for impaired blood flow, local accumulation of ATP and ADP at sites of atherogenesis, and eventually, the exacerbation of atherosclerosis.

Background. Previous experiments have studied separately the development of either cardiac or aortic fibrosis and stiffness in aldosterone (Aldo)-salt hypertensive rats. Our aim was to determine in vivo the effects of Aldo and the Aldo receptor antagonist eplerenone (Epl) on simultaneous changes in cardiac and arterial structure and function and their interactions. Methods and Results. Aldo was administered in uninephrectomised Sprague-Dawley rats receiving a high-salt diet from 8 to 12 weeks of age. Three groups of Aldo-salt rats were treated with 1 to 100 mg/kg -1

Abstract-Semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO)-deficient mice present no alteration in elastin cross-linking processes and carotid mechanical properties. In contrast, previous studies have shown that SSAO inhibitors induced marked anomalies in arterial structure and function. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of semicarbazide (SCZ), an efficient SSAO inhibitor, on the arterial phenotype of the carotid artery in relation to modulation of SSAO and lysyl oxidase activities in growing rats. We first show that after 6 weeks of SCZ treatment (100 mg/kg per day), SSAO activity was reduced by 90%, whereas lysyl oxidase activity was only partially inhibited (Ͻ60%) in carotid artery, compared with controls. There was significant growth inhibition and no difference in mean arterial pressure but an increase in pulse pressure with a smaller arterial diameter in SCZ-treated rats. SCZ decreased aortic insoluble elastin without a change in total collagen. In addition, extracellular proteins other than insoluble elastin and collagen were increased in SCZ-treated rats. All of the elastic lamellae presented globular masses along their periphery, and focal disorganization was observed in the ascending aorta. Carotid artery mechanical strength was lower in SCZ-treated rats, and the elastic modulus-wall stress curve was shifted leftward compared with controls, indicating increased stiffness. Thus, SCZ modifies arterial geometry and mechanical properties, alters elastic fiber structure, and reduces the content of cross-linked elastin. Because these abnormalities are essentially absent in SSAO-deficient mice, our results suggest that lysyl oxidase inhibition is responsible for the major part of the vascular phenotype of SCZ-treated rats. Key Words: SSAO Ⅲ carotid artery Ⅲ LOX Ⅲ arterial stiffness Ⅲ elastin T he maturation of elastin and collagen is crucial for the organization of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and to provide functional elasticity and tensile strength of the arterial wall. It is generally considered that the formation of intramolecular and extramolecular cross-links of both elastin and collagen is mediated by lysyl oxidase (LOX). LOX is a carbonyl-dependent copper enzyme, expressed, synthesized, and secreted by vascular smooth muscle cells. 1 Many years ago, Lalich 2 showed that the pharmacological inhibition of LOX with ␤-aminopropionitrile (〉APN) induced aortic ruptures and aneurysms in rat. Mice lacking LOX do not deposit normal elastic fibers and develop aortic aneurysms. 3,4 Another copper-containing amine oxidase, semicarbazidesensitive amine oxidase (SSAO), also called vascular adhesion protein-1, is highly expressed in the plasma membrane of vascular smooth muscle cells of the aortic media. [5][6][7] The exact roles of SSAO in vascular wall function remain unknown. Several previous results support the hypothesis that SSAO may be involved in vascular smooth muscle cell differentiation, organization of the ECM, 8 and regulation of vascular tone. 9 -12 Langford et al 11 have shown that p...