Macrophage type-I and type-II class-A scavenger receptors (MSR-A) are implicated in the pathological deposition of cholesterol during atherogenesis as a result of receptor-mediated uptake of modified low-density lipoproteins (mLDL). MSR-A can bind an extraordinarily wide range of ligands, including bacterial pathogens, and also mediates cation-independent macrophage adhesion in vitro. Here we show that targeted disruption of the MSR-A gene in mice results in a reduction in the size of atherosclerotic lesions in an animal deficient in apolipoprotein E. Macrophages from MSR-A-deficient mice show a marked decrease in mLDL uptake in vitro, whereas mLDL clearance from plasma occurs at a normal rate, indicating that there may be alternative mechanisms for removing mLDL from the circulation. In addition, MSR-A-knockout mice show an increased susceptibility to infection with Listeria monocytogenes or herpes simplex virus type-1, indicating that MSR-A may play a part in host defence against pathogens.

Although thousands of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are localized in the nucleus, only a few dozen have been functionally characterized. Here we show that nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1), an essential lncRNA for the formation of nuclear body paraspeckles, is induced by influenza virus and herpes simplex virus infection as well as by Toll-like receptor3-p38 pathway-triggered poly I:C stimulation, resulting in excess formation of paraspeckles. We found that NEAT1 facilitates the expression of antiviral genes including cytokines such as interleukin-8 (IL8). We found that splicing factor proline/glutamine-rich (SFPQ), a NEAT1-binding paraspeckle protein, is a repressor of IL8 transcription, and that NEAT1 induction relocates SFPQ from the IL8 promoter to the paraspeckles, leading to transcriptional activation of IL8. Together, our data show that NEAT1 plays an important role in the innate immune response through the transcriptional regulation of antiviral genes by the stimulus-responsive cooperative action of NEAT1 and SFPQ.

Human atherosclerotic lesions overexpress the lysosomal cysteine protease cathepsin S (Cat S), one of the most potent mammalian elastases known. In contrast, atheromata have low levels of the endogenous Cat S inhibitor cystatin C compared with normal arteries, suggesting involvement of this protease in atherogenesis. The present study tested this hypothesis directly by crossing Cat S-deficient (CatS -/-) mice with LDL receptor-deficient (LDLR -/-) mice that develop atherosclerosis on a high-cholesterol diet. Compared with LDLR -/-mice, double-knockout mice (CatS -/-LDLR -/-) developed significantly less atherosclerosis, as indicated by plaque size (plaque area and intimal thickening) and stage of development. These mice also had markedly reduced content of intimal macrophages, lipids, smooth muscle cells, collagen, CD4 + T lymphocytes, and levels of IFN-γ. CatS -/-LDLR -/-monocytes showed impaired subendothelial basement membrane transmigration, and aortas from CatS -/-LDLR -/-mice had preserved elastic laminae. These findings establish a pivotal role for Cat S in atherogenesis.

Genome-wide studies reveal that transcription by RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is dynamically regulated. To obtain a comprehensive view of a single transcription cycle, we switched on transcription of five long human genes (>100 kbp) with tumor necrosis factor-␣ (TNF␣) and monitored (using microarrays, RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization, and chromatin immunoprecipitation) the appearance of nascent RNA, changes in binding of Pol II and two insulators (the cohesin subunit RAD21 and the CCCTC-binding factor CTCF), and modifications of histone H3. Activation triggers a wave of transcription that sweeps along the genes at Ϸ3.1 kbp/min; splicing occurs cotranscriptionally, a major checkpoint acts several kilobases downstream of the transcription start site to regulate polymerase transit, and Pol II tends to stall at cohesin/CTCF binding sites.endothelial cell ͉ polymerase II ͉ RNA ͉ tumor necrosis factor alpha

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF1) is a master regulator of adaptive gene expression under hypoxia. However, a role for HIF1 in the epigenetic regulation remains unknown. Genome-wide analysis of HIF1 binding sites (chromatin immunoprecipitation [ChIP] with deep sequencing) of endothelial cells clarified that HIF1 mainly binds to the intergenic regions distal from transcriptional starting sites under both normoxia and hypoxia. Next, we examined the temporal profile of gene expression under hypoxic conditions by using DNA microarrays. We clarified that early hypoxia-responsive genes are functionally associated with glycolysis, including GLUT3 (SLC2A3). Acetylated lysine 27 of histone 3 covered the HIF1 binding sites, and HIF1 functioned as an enhancer of SLC2A3 by interaction with lysine (K)-specific demethylase 3A (KDM3A). Knockdown of HIF1␣ and KDM3A showed that glycolytic genes are regulated by both HIF1 and KDM3A and respond to hypoxia in a manner independent of cell type specificity. We elucidated that both the chromatin conformational structure and histone modification change under hypoxic conditions and enhance the expression of SLC2A3 based on the combined results of chromatin conformation capture (3C) and ChIP assays. KDM3A is recruited to the SLC2A3 locus in an HIF1-dependent manner and demethylates H3K9me2 so as to upregulate its expression. These findings provide novel insights into the interaction between HIF1 and KDM3A and also the epigenetic regulation of HIF1.

Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) is a potent cytokine that signals through nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) to activate a subset of human genes. It is usually assumed that this involves RNA polymerases transcribing responsive genes wherever they might be in the nucleus. Using primary human endothelial cells, variants of chromosome conformation capture (including 4C and chromatin interaction analysis with paired‐end tag sequencing), and fluorescence in situ hybridization to detect single nascent transcripts, we show that TNFα induces responsive genes to congregate in discrete ‘NFκB factories’. Some factories further specialize in transcribing responsive genes encoding micro‐RNAs that target downregulated mRNAs. We expect all signalling pathways to contain this extra leg, where responding genes are transcribed in analogous specialized factories.

Objective-Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), the rate-limiting enzyme of heme degradation, has recently been considered to have protective roles against various pathophysiological conditions. Since we demonstrated that HO-1 overexpression inhibits atherosclerotic formation in animal models, we examined the effect of HO modulation on proinflammatory cytokine production, endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) expression, and endothelium-dependent vascular relaxation responses. Methods and Results-After HO-1 induction by heme arginate (HA), vascular endothelial cell cultures were exposed to oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) or tumor necrosis factor-␣ (TNF-␣). HA pretreatment significantly attenuated the production of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, monocyte chemotactic protein-1, and macrophage colonystimulating factor, suggesting that HO-1 induction attenuates proinflammatory responses. In addition, HO-1 overexpression also alleviated endothelial dysfunction as judged by restoration of attenuated eNOS expression after exposure to oxLDL and TNF-␣. Importantly, impaired endothelium-dependent vascular relaxation responses in thoracic aortic rings from high-fat-fed LDL receptor knockout mice were also improved. These effects were observed by treatment with bilirubin not by carbon monoxide. Key Words: heme oxygenase Ⅲ oxidized LDL Ⅲ endothelial nitric oxide synthase Ⅲ bilirubin Ⅲ carbon monoxide V ascular endothelial cell activation by oxidized LDL (oxLDL) and cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-␣ (TNF-␣) is considered to play an essential role in the development of atherosclerotic lesions. 1 Activated endothelial cells produce adhesion molecules, chemokines, and growth factors such as vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), and macrophage colony-stimulating factor (MCSF). [2][3][4] Numerous studies have shown that these molecules promote multiple steps in the formation of atherosclerotic lesion. 1,3,4 Endothelial dysfunction, which is associated with decreased bioavailability of NO from endothelial NO synthase (eNOS), is also considered to play an important role in atherogenesis. 1,5 NO formed by eNOS has been shown to contribute to vascular smooth muscle cell relaxation and inhibition of platelet aggregation. 1 Heme oxygenase (HO) catalyzes the rate-limiting step of heme degradation in mammals. 6 The products of the reaction are biliverdin, carbon monoxide (CO), and free iron. It has been suggested that biliverdin and CO have cytoprotective effects against various cellular stresses. [7][8][9] We demonstrated that the inducible form of HO (HO-1) is induced in cultured vascular endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and macrophages by oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL), and that high expression of HO-1 results in attenuation of monocyte chemotaxis by oxLDL. 9 In fact, HO-1 is expressed in atherosclerotic lesions. 10,11 We also demonstrated that overexpression of HO-1 inhibits the formation of atherosclerotic lesions by inhibiting lipid peroxidation and by affecting NO meta...

Although it is widely assumed that active RNA polymerase tracks along its template, we find that DNA, not the polymerase, moves, suggesting that polymerase works by reeling in the template.