| First Author | Allen RM | Year | 2022 |
| Journal | Nat Cell Biol | Volume | 24 |
| Issue | 12 | Pages | 1701-1713 |
| PubMed ID | 36474072 | Mgi Jnum | J:332569 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:7414461 | Doi | 10.1038/s41556-022-01030-7 |
| Citation | Allen RM, et al. (2022) LDL delivery of microbial small RNAs drives atherosclerosis through macrophage TLR8. Nat Cell Biol 24(12):1701-1713 |
| abstractText | Macrophages present a spectrum of phenotypes that mediate both the pathogenesis and resolution of atherosclerotic lesions. Inflammatory macrophage phenotypes are pro-atherogenic, but the stimulatory factors that promote these phenotypes remain incompletely defined. Here we demonstrate that microbial small RNAs (msRNA) are enriched on low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and drive pro-inflammatory macrophage polarization and cytokine secretion via activation of the RNA sensor toll-like receptor 8 (TLR8). Removal of msRNA cargo during LDL re-constitution yields particles that readily promote sterol loading but fail to stimulate inflammatory activation. Competitive antagonism of TLR8 with non-targeting locked nucleic acids was found to prevent native LDL-induced macrophage polarization in vitro, and re-organize lesion macrophage phenotypes in vivo, as determined by single-cell RNA sequencing. Critically, this was associated with reduced disease burden in distinct mouse models of atherosclerosis. These results identify LDL-msRNA as instigators of atherosclerosis-associated inflammation and support alternative functions of LDL beyond cholesterol transport. |
