Accelerating the Pace of Atherosclerosis Research
2014; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 35; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1161/atvbaha.114.304833
ISSN1524-4636
AutoresAlan Daugherty, Ira Tabas, Daniel J. Rader,
Tópico(s)Coronary Interventions and Diagnostics
ResumoHomeArteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular BiologyVol. 35, No. 1Accelerating the Pace of Atherosclerosis Research Free AccessEditorialPDF/EPUBAboutView PDFView EPUBSections ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload citationsTrack citationsPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InMendeleyReddit Jump toFree AccessEditorialPDF/EPUBAccelerating the Pace of Atherosclerosis Research Alan Daugherty, Ira Tabas and Daniel J. Rader Alan DaughertyAlan Daugherty From the Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington (A.D.); Department of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY (I.T.); and Departments of Medicine and Genetics, Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, and Cardiovascular Institute, Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (D.J.R.). , Ira TabasIra Tabas From the Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington (A.D.); Department of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY (I.T.); and Departments of Medicine and Genetics, Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, and Cardiovascular Institute, Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (D.J.R.). and Daniel J. RaderDaniel J. Rader From the Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington (A.D.); Department of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY (I.T.); and Departments of Medicine and Genetics, Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, and Cardiovascular Institute, Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (D.J.R.). Originally published1 Jan 2015https://doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.114.304833Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2015;35:11–12Manipulations of plasma cholesterol concentrations have been the mainstay of experimental atherosclerosis research for many decades. Before the introduction of the widespread use of genetic manipulations, atherosclerosis research primarily relied on dietary manipulations to produce hypercholesterolemic states.1 This was easily achieved in some species, such as rabbits, by the addition of cholesterol to the diet.2 Although many animals have been used in the development of atherosclerosis studies, there has been a dramatic increase in focusing on the use of mice to determine mechanisms of the disease. Like many species, mice do not readily respond to elevations of dietary cholesterol to generate a hypercholesterolemic state. The use of mice for atherosclerosis research was pioneered by the landmark studies of Dr Paigen3,4 described the appearance and quantification of lesions in the mouse aorta after mice were fed a diet containing high content of cholesterol and cholate.See accompanying article on page 50The application of mice to atherosclerosis studies was enhanced dramatically by the manipulation of genes relevant to lipoprotein metabolism. For example, mice deficient in apoE are hypercholesterolemic and develop atherosclerotic lesions even when fed normal laboratory diets.5,6 The extent of hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis is enhanced by feeding diets that mimic the fat contents of some fast food companies.7 Another widely used model is the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor knockout mouse, and in this case, the use of a high-cholesterol/high-fat diet is required to achieve hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis.8 For both strains of mice, numerous studies have demonstrated that atherosclerosis develops in several vascular areas, particularly in the aortic root and innominate artery, although superficial atherosclerotic lesions can be found in focal areas throughout the aorta.9,10Since the introduction of these genetically altered animals, there has been an impressive number of potential targets identified that potentially reduce lesion size and their proclivity to rupture.11 Identification of some novel mechanisms in the development of atherosclerosis that led to a proliferation of potential therapeutic targets has been based on the development of mice with compound genetic deficiencies. The availability of these mice has been a great boost to both academic and pharmaceutical industries to develop potential new therapies. However, there are 2 major constraints to the use of compound-deficient mice (ie, time and money). As illustrated in the Figure, the development of genetically deficient animals is a process that commonly takes in a range of 2 years to generate colonies of sufficient sizes for the determination of atherosclerosis. The C57BL/6 genetic background is commonly used, and this mouse strain has a reputation as being poor breeders. Even when breeding schemes are optimized, the development of compound-deficient animals consumes considerable costs, including colony housing personnel to perform management and genotyping.Download figureDownload PowerPointFigure. Provisional estimate for developing low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor (LDLR)−/− background in mice to determine the effects of a gene of interest (GOI) on atherosclerosis. The proposed scheme assumes availability of appropriate genotypes in the offspring to optimize the breeding pairs. However, the wide array of genotypes in the second generation frequently leads to further cycles of breeding. This stage also requires considerable effects for genotyping. In optimal circumstances, a minimum of 3 breeding cycles are needed to develop parental lines for the study mice. The optimal genotypes of the parental breeders are represented about the time line. The potential genotypes of the offspring are listed below the time line and the frequency expressed as percentage occurrence. The gestation time for most mice strains is ≈19 days, and sexual maturity is achieved within 2 months of the age.As a mode of circumventing the need to develop mice in a hypercholesterolemic background to perform atherosclerosis studies, 2 recent studies have demonstrated the ability to promote high plasma cholesterol concentrations using an adenoassociated viral vector (AAV) expression of a mutant form of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) acutely.12,13 PCSK9 has evoked intense interest in recent years after the discovery that mutations of PCSK9 were the basis for some forms of autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemia.14 PCSK9 regulates plasma cholesterol concentrations through recognition of the extracellular domain of LDL receptors, which then accelerates its intracellular degradation. Several PCSK9 mutants have been identified in humans, including the gain-of-function mutant used in these 2 recent reports.12,13 Both reports12,13 used AAVs as a delivery mechanism to promote chronic expression of gain-of-function mutants that were either human D374Y or mouse D377Y. Both studies demonstrated that the combination of either mutant of PSCK9 expression or feeding fat-enriched diets leads to pronounced hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis. The lipoprotein cholesterol distribution in the presence of mutant PCKS9 resembled profiles generated using plasma from LDL receptor−/− mice fed fat-enriched diets. Therefore, both studies demonstrated the ability to develop a phenotype akin to LDL receptor deficiency in mice without the substantial time and effort of breeding mice into genetically deficient in LDL receptors.Many facilities can develop AAV at reasonable cost, and at the infection rate used in these 2 publications, the cost of the amount of AAV needed to infect mice is minimal. Also, there are no major biosafety concerns using AAVs. Therefore, there can be considerable savings in negating the needs to purchase apoE−/− or LDL receptor−/− mice. Because apoE−/− and LDL receptor−/− mice are only available commercially in a C57BL/6 background, this approach will also facilitate the studies that use different strains to search for genes that modify atherosclerotic lesion formation.Although it is assumed that mice infected with mutant PCSK9 is mimicking responses in LDL receptor−/− mice, the effects of PCSK9 could extend beyond effects on LDL receptors. For example, PCSK9 is also known to interact with other members of the LDL receptor gene family, including VLDL receptor and LRP1 (low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1). These broader effects have the potential to promote differences between mice expressing mutant PCSK9 and those genetically lacking LDL receptors, which should be investigated extensively in future studies.The ability to develop hypercholesterolemia in mice represents a major benefit in the use of mouse models to study mechanisms of atherosclerosis acutely. It may also have applicability to other areas. For example, a commonly used model for the development of abdominal aortic aneurysms is infusion of angiotensin II into hypercholesterolemic mice.15 Although angiotensin II–induced abdominal aortic aneurysms can be generated in normolipidemic mice, the incidence is much lower than in hypercholesterolemic mice. As with atherosclerosis studies, the development of compound-deficient animals has been a major impediment to execution of angiotensin II–induced abdominal aortic aneurysms studies. Therefore, validation of the approach of injecting an AAV expressing PCSK9 would be a valuable addition to the literature.Overall, the recent 2 studies12,13 demonstrate that persistent expression of a gain-of-function mutant of PCSK9 leads to chronic hypercholesterolemia in mice and subsequent atherosclerosis. We predict that there will be a rapid assimilation of this approach into atherosclerosis studies, which will greatly accelerate the rate of discoveries on atherosclerosis mechanisms while diminishing costs.Sources of FundingAortic aneurysm research in the Daugherty laboratory is supported by HL107319. The content in this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.DisclosuresNone.FootnotesCorrespondence to Alan Daugherty, PhD, DSc, Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, BBSRB Room B243, 741 South Limestone, Lexington, KY 40503. E-mail [email protected]References1. Getz GS, Reardon CA. Animal models of atherosclerosis.Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2012; 32:1104–1115. doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.111.237693.LinkGoogle Scholar2. Fan J, Kitajima S, Watanabe T, Xu J, Zhang J, Liu E, Chen YE. Rabbit models for the study of human atherosclerosis: from pathophysiological mechanisms to translational medicine [published online ahead of print September 30, 2014].Pharmacol Ther. doi: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2014.09.009. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0163725814001855.Google Scholar3. Paigen B, Morrow A, Brandon C, Mitchell D, Holmes P. Variation in susceptibility to atherosclerosis among inbred strains of mice.Atherosclerosis. 1985; 57:65–73.CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Paigen B, Morrow A, Holmes PA, Mitchell D, Williams RA. Quantitative assessment of atherosclerotic lesions in mice.Atherosclerosis. 1987; 68:231–240.CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Zhang SH, Reddick RL, Piedrahita JA, Maeda N. Spontaneous hypercholesterolemia and arterial lesions in mice lacking apolipoprotein E.Science. 1992; 258:468–471.CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Plump AS, Smith JD, Hayek T, Aalto-Setälä K, Walsh A, Verstuyft JG, Rubin EM, Breslow JL. Severe hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice created by homologous recombination in ES cells.Cell. 1992; 71:343–353.CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. Zhang SH, Reddick RL, Burkey B, Maeda N. Diet-induced atherosclerosis in mice heterozygous and homozygous for apolipoprotein E gene disruption.J Clin Invest. 1994; 94:937–945. doi: 10.1172/JCI117460.CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. Ishibashi S, Brown MS, Goldstein JL, Gerard RD, Hammer RE, Herz J. Hypercholesterolemia in low density lipoprotein receptor knockout mice and its reversal by adenovirus-mediated gene delivery.J Clin Invest. 1993; 92:883–893. doi: 10.1172/JCI116663.CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. Reddick RL, Zhang SH, Maeda N. Atherosclerosis in mice lacking apo E. Evaluation of lesional development and progression.Arterioscler Thromb. 1994; 14:141–147.LinkGoogle Scholar10. Rosenfeld ME, Polinsky P, Virmani R, Kauser K, Rubanyi G, Schwartz SM. Advanced atherosclerotic lesions in the innominate artery of the ApoE knockout mouse.Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2000; 20:2587–2592.LinkGoogle Scholar11. Rader DJ, Daugherty A. Translating molecular discoveries into new therapies for atherosclerosis.Nature. 2008; 451:904–913. doi: 10.1038/nature06796.CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar12. Roche-Molina M, Sanz-Rosa D, Cruz FM, Garcia-Prieto J, Lopez S, Abia R, Muriana FJG, Fuster V, Ibanez B, Bernal JA. Induction of sustained hypercholesterolemia by single adeno-associated virus–mediated gene transfer of mutant hPCSK9.Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2015; 35:50–59. doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.114.303617.LinkGoogle Scholar13. Bjørklund MM, Hollensen AK, Hagensen MK, Dagnaes-Hansen F, Christoffersen C, Mikkelsen JG, Bentzon JF. Induction of atherosclerosis in mice and hamsters without germline genetic engineering.Circ Res. 2014; 114:1684–1689. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.114.302937.LinkGoogle Scholar14. Abifadel M, Varret M, Rabès JP, et al. Mutations in PCSK9 cause autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemia.Nat Genet. 2003; 34:154–156. doi: 10.1038/ng1161.CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar15. Daugherty A, Manning MW, Cassis LA. Angiotensin II promotes atherosclerotic lesions and aneurysms in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice.J Clin Invest. 2000; 105:1605–1612. doi: 10.1172/JCI7818.CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Previous Back to top Next FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited ByHosseini Z, Marinello M, Decker C, Sansbury B, Sadhu S, Gerlach B, Bossardi Ramos R, Adam A, Spite M and Fredman G (2021) Resolvin D1 Enhances Necroptotic Cell Clearance Through Promoting Macrophage Fatty Acid Oxidation and Oxidative Phosphorylation, Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 41:3, (1062-1075), Online publication date: 1-Mar-2021. Prakash V, Jaker S, Burgan A, Jacques A, Fluck D, Sharma P, Fry C and Han T (2021) The smoking-dyslipidaemia dyad: A potent synergistic risk for atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, JRSM Cardiovascular Disease, 10.1177/2048004020980945, 10, (204800402098094), Online publication date: 1-Jan-2021. Cheng Z, Huang L, Xiao X, Sun J, Zou Z, Jiang J, Lu C, Zhang H and Zhang C (2021) Irisin in atherosclerosis, Clinica Chimica Acta, 10.1016/j.cca.2021.08.022, 522, (158-166), Online publication date: 1-Nov-2021. Wu C, Daugherty A and Lu H (2019) Updates on Approaches for Studying Atherosclerosis, Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 39:4, (e108-e117), Online publication date: 1-Apr-2019. Zhu F, Zhang N, Ma X, Yang J, Sun W, Shen Y, Wen Y, Yuan S, Zhao D, Zhang H and Feng Y (2019) Circulating Hematopoietic Stem/Progenitor Cells are Associated with Coronary Stenoses in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease, Scientific Reports, 10.1038/s41598-018-38298-5, 9:1, Online publication date: 1-Dec-2019. Wu C, Mohammadmoradi S, Chen J, Sawada H, Daugherty A and Lu H (2018) Renin-Angiotensin System and Cardiovascular Functions, Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 38:7, (e108-e116), Online publication date: 1-Jul-2018. 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Rezvan A, Sur S and Jo H (2015) Novel Animal Models of Atherosclerosis, Biomedical Engineering Letters, 10.1007/s13534-015-0200-4, 5:3, (181-187), Online publication date: 1-Sep-2015. Zhang L, Gu J, Wang S, He F and Gong K (2022) Identification of key differential genes in intimal hyperplasia induced by left carotid artery ligation, PeerJ, 10.7717/peerj.13436, 10, (e13436) January 2015Vol 35, Issue 1 Advertisement Article InformationMetrics © 2014 American Heart Association, Inc.https://doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.114.304833PMID: 25520521 Originally publishedJanuary 1, 2015 KeywordsaneurysmsmiceatherosclerosischolesterolPDF download Advertisement
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