Rewiring endothelial cell sphingolipid metabolism to favor S1P over ceramide signaling protects from coronary atherosclerosis
Growing evidence correlated changes in bioactive sphingolipids, particularly sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and ceramides, with coronary artery diseases. Furthermore, specific plasma ceramide species can predict major cardiovascular events. Dysfunction of the endothelium lining  lesion-prone areas plays a pivotal role in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. Yet, how sphingolipid metabolism and signaling change and contribute to endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis remain poorly understood.  By using a mouse model of coronary atherosclerosis, we demonstrated that hemodynamic stress induces an early metabolic rewiring of endothelial sphingolipid de novo biosynthesis favoring S1P signaling over ceramide as protective response. Furthermore, our data are paradigm shift from  the current believe that ceramide accrual contributes to endothelial dysfunction.  The de novo biosynthesis of sphingolipids is commenced by serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT), and is downregulated by NOGO-B, an ER membrane protein. We showed that Nogo-B is upregulated by hemodynamic stress in myocardial endothelial cells (EC) of ApoE-/- mice and is expressed in the endothelium lining coronary lesions in mice and human. We demonstrated that mice lacking Nogo-B specifically in EC (Nogo-A/BECKOApoE-/-) were resistant to coronary atherosclerosis development and progression, and mortality. Fibrous cap thickness was significantly increased in Nogo-A/BECKOApoE-/- mice and correlated with reduced necrotic core and macrophage infiltration. Mechanistically, the deletion of Nogo-B in EC sustained the rewiring of sphingolipid metabolism towards S1P, imparting an atheroprotective transcriptional signature that refrain coronary atherogenesis and its progression.  These findings also set forth the foundation for sphingolipid-based therapeutics to reduce the treat this condition. Overall design: FACS sorted ECs were isolated from hearts of ApoE-/- and Nogo-A/B(ECKO)ApoE-/- mice after 8 weeks post-TAC and were then processed for single cell RNAseq using standard 10x Chromium.