title: CTRP9 enhances carotid plaque stability by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines in macrophages.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate whether C1q/TNF-related protein 9 (CTRP9) could stabilize the mature plaques by targeting macrophages in the apolipoprotein E knockout (ApoE KO) mice model. In vivo, the mice were subjected to high-fat diet and constrictive collars on the right carotid artery for eight weeks, a lentiviral vectors expressing CTRP9 (LV-CTRP9) or green fluorescence protein (LV-eGFP) as a control was intravenously injected into ApoE KO mice. Delivery of LV-CTRP9 resulted in low contents of macrophages and lipids, and high contents of collagen and vascular smooth muscle cells in the carotid mature plaques. In addition, CTRP9 also decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines in mature plaques. In vitro, RAW264.7 macrophages were pretreated with or without LV-CTRP9 transfection, and then stimulated with oxLDL (50 μg/mL). We found that the expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) in the LV-CTRP9 group were significantly lower than those in the LV-eGFP group after exposure to oxLDL. The present data indicate that CTRP9 overexpression enhances the plaque stability in ApoE KO mice by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines in macrophages. Our study suggests that the therapeutic approaches to enhance CTRP9 production could be valuable for plaque stabilization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China; The Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Remodeling and Function Research, Chinese Ministry of Education and Chinese Ministry of Health, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China; The Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Remodeling and Function Research, Chinese Ministry of Education and Chinese Ministry of Health, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China; The Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Remodeling and Function Research, Chinese Ministry of Education and Chinese Ministry of Health, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Tingting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China; The Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Remodeling and Function Research, Chinese Ministry of Education and Chinese Ministry of Health, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Yawei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China; The Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Remodeling and Function Research, Chinese Ministry of Education and Chinese Ministry of Health, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China; The Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Remodeling and Function Research, Chinese Ministry of Education and Chinese Ministry of Health, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Tongshuai
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China; The Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Remodeling and Function Research, Chinese Ministry of Education and Chinese Ministry of Health, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Tianjiao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China; The Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Remodeling and Function Research, Chinese Ministry of Education and Chinese Ministry of Health, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Chengmin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China; The Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Remodeling and Function Research, Chinese Ministry of Education and Chinese Ministry of Health, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Jianning
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China; The Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Remodeling and Function Research, Chinese Ministry of Education and Chinese Ministry of Health, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China; The Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Remodeling and Function Research, Chinese Ministry of Education and Chinese Ministry of Health, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China. Electronic address: guoyuan9092@163.com.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D052242:Adiponectin / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002460:Cell Line; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology*; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000235:genetics; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D014162:Transfection; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D052242:Adiponectin; D001057:Apolipoproteins E; C534692:CTRP9 protein, mouse; D016207:Cytokines; D006023:Glycoproteins
keywords: Anti-inflammation; Atherosclerosis; CTRP9; Plaque stabilization