title: Daintain/AIF-1 plays roles in coronary heart disease via affecting the blood composition and promoting macrophage uptake and foam cell formation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Daintain/AIF-1 is an inflammatory polypeptide factor/allograft inflammatory factor 1 derived from macrophages. It is characterized in APOE(-/-) mice as a novel inflammatory factor associated with atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to characterize its function in human atherosclerosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Immunohistochemistry was used to identify the expression of daintain/AIF-1 in vessel segments within and far from atherosclerotic plaques; High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to display the effects of daintain/AIF-1 on C-reactive protein (CRP), oxidative capacity and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in vivo; Oil Red O Staining was used to show the effects of daintain/AIF-1 on uptake of oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) into U937 cells, a macrophage line; Western Blot was used to test scavenger receptor A (SRA) expression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A high density of daintain/AIF-1 was observed in the tunica intima and media of coronary artery with atherosclerotic plaque, and fewer daintain/AIF-1 in the vessels without atherosclerotic plaque; Daintain/AIF-1 injected intravenously into BALB/c mice boosted oxidative capacity, significantly impaired SOD activities and augmented the CRP level in blood. According to the oil red O test, daintain/AIF-1 profoundly facilitated the uptake of ox-LDL in U937 macrophages and formation of foam cells in the endothelium. We also found that the molecular mechanisms are effective by promoting overexpression of SRA on macrophages.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings implicate that the inflammatory factor daintain/AIF-1 is closely associated with atherogenesis, and could be further characterized as a novel risk factor for atherosclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Junhan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yanying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhongxia
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Dongjing
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Chenhong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhengwang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005487:Foam Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL / Q000378:metabolism; D008264:Macrophages / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008840:Microfilament Proteins; D051117:Scavenger Receptors, Class A / Q000378:metabolism; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D020298:U937 Cells
chemical_list: C112986:AIF1 protein, human; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL; D008840:Microfilament Proteins; D051117:Scavenger Receptors, Class A; C099252:oxidized low density lipoprotein; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase