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(Circulation Research. 2009;105:453.)
© 2009 American Heart Association, Inc.

Molecular Medicine

Chronic Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Activates Unfolded Protein Response in Arterial Endothelium in Regions of Susceptibility to Atherosclerosis

Mete Civelek, Elisabetta Manduchi, Rebecca J. Riley, Christian J. Stoeckert, Jr, Peter F. Davies

From the Institute for Medicine and Engineering (M.C., R.J.R., P.F.D.), Department of Bioengineering (M.C., P.F.D.), Center for Bioinformatics (E.M., C.J.S.), Department of Genetics (E.M., C.J.S.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (P.F.D.), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.

Correspondence to Peter F. Davies, PhD, Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, 1010 Vagelos Laboratories, 3340 Smith Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104. E-mail pfd{at}pobox.upenn.edu

Rationale: Endothelial function and dysfunction are central to the focal origin and regional development of atherosclerosis; however, an in vivo endothelial phenotypic footprint of susceptibility to atherosclerosis preceding pathological change remains elusive.

Objective: To conduct a comparative multi-site genomics study of arterial endothelial phenotype in atherosusceptible and atheroprotected regions.

Methods and Results: Transcript profiles of freshly isolated endothelial cells from 7 discrete arterial regions in normal swine were analyzed to determine the steady state in vivo endothelial phenotypes in regions of varying susceptibilities to atherosclerosis. The most abundant common feature of the endothelium of all atherosusceptible regions was the upregulation of genes associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. The unfolded protein response pathway, induced by ER stress, was therefore investigated in detail in endothelium of the atherosusceptible aortic arch and was found to be partially activated. ER transmembrane signal transducers IRE1 and ATF6 and their downstream effectors, but not PERK, were activated concomitant with a higher transcript expression of protein folding enzymes and chaperones, indicative of ER stress in vivo.

Conclusions: The findings demonstrate the prevalence of chronic endothelial ER stress and activated unfolded protein response in vivo at atherosusceptible arterial sites. We propose that chronic localized biological stress is linked to spatial susceptibility of the endothelium to the initiation of atherosclerosis.

Key Words: hemodynamics • DNA microarrays • gene expression