Guanghua Luo

Specific tissue expression and cellular localization of human apolipoprotein M as determined by in situ hybridization

Apolipoprotein M (apoM) is a recently discovered human apolipoprotein predominantly present in high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and in minor proportion in triglyceride-rich lipoprotein (TGRLP) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). The gene coding for apoM has been detected in all mammal genomes. The function of apoM is unknown yet. In the present study, we demonstrated that apoM is exclusively expressed in a strong manner in adult liver and kidney, and is expressed weakly in fetal liver and kidney as detected with human multiple tissue expression array. Both immunohistochemical staining and apoM mRNA in situ hybridization demonstrated that apoM was exclusively expressed in hepatocytes in human liver and in tubular epithelial cells in human kidney. The present study helps to elucidate the pathophysiological functions of apoM in vivo.

Liver X receptor agonist downregulates hepatic apoM expression in vivo and in vitro

It has been demonstrated that apolipoprotein M (apoM), a recently discovered HDL apolipoprotein, has antiatherosclerotic properties, which may be mediated by the enhancement of reversed cholesterol transportation and/or hepatic cholesterol catabolism. The detailed mechanisms are unknown yet. Liver X receptor (LXR) belongs to the nuclear receptor superfamily and is a ligand-activated transcription factor involved in the regulation of lipid metabolism and inflammation. Activation of LXR in the cell cultures results in an enhancement of cholesterol efflux to apoAI. In the present study, we investigated effects of the LXR agonist, T0901317 on hepatic apoM expression in vivo and in vitro. Serum apoM levels in mice given T0901317 at 10 mg or 100 mg/kg for 7 days were reduced by 12-17% (P<0.05). In HepG2 cell cultures, apoM mRNA levels were significantly lower in presence of 25 microM T0901317 (37.1%) than in control cells (P<0.001). A similar reduction was found by the addition of 9-cis retinoic acid (RA). Twenty-five micromolar T0901317 together with 100 nM RA decreased apoM mRNA expression by 65% (P<0.001). Thus, the LXR agonist T0901317 significantly downregulates apoM mRNA expression in vivo and in vitro, which indicates that apoM is another novel target gene regulated by the LXR. The combination of RA and T0901317 showed additive effects, which suggests that apoM expression can be modulated by LXR/RXR pathway.

Increased plasma apoM levels in the patients suffered from hepatocellular carcinoma and other chronic liver diseases

ObjectiveTo determine plasma apolipoprotein M (apoM) levels and other lipid profiles in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients compared to other chronic liver diseases and normal subjects.Materials and methods36 HCC, 68 chronic hepatitis, 29 liver cirrhosis patients and 64 normal controls were subjected in the present study. Serum lipids, lipoproteins, apolipoprotein AI (apoAI) and apoB were determined by the conventional methods. Plasma apoM levels were semi-quantitatively determined by both dot-blotting and western blotting analysis.ResultsSerum levels of triglycerides (TG), HDL-cholesterol, apoAI and lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)) were significantly lower in the HCC patients than in the normal subjects, whereas there were no obvious differences on serum total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and apoB between HCC patients and normal subjects. However, plasma apoM levels in HCC patients were significantly increased than those in the normal subjects, but lower than those in the chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis patients.ConclusionIt is concluded that serum TG, apoAI, HDL-C and Lp(a) were significantly decreased in HCC patients than in controls, whereas plasma apoM levels were significantly increased in the HCC patients. Decreased serum TG, apoAI, HDL-C and Lp(a) may reflect the liver damage in HCC patients, whereas the clinical significance of increased plasma apoM levels in relation to HCC is not clear.

Intralipid decreases apolipoprotein M levels and insulin sensitivity in rats.

Background Apolipoprotein M (ApoM) is a constituent of high-density lipoproteins (HDL). It plays a crucial role in HDL-mediated reverse cholesterol transport. Insulin resistance is associated with decreased ApoM levels. Aims To assess the effects of increased free fatty acids (FFAs) levels after short-term Intralipid infusion on insulin sensitivity and hepatic ApoM gene expression. Methods Adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats infused with 20% Intralipid solution for 6 h. Glucose infusion rates (GIR) were determined by hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp during Intralipid infusion and plasma FFA levels were measured by colorimetry. Rats were sacrificed after Intralipid treatment and livers were sampled. Human embryonic kidney 293T cells were transfected with a lentivirus mediated human apoM overexpression system. Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats were injected with the lentiviral vector and insulin tolerance was assessed. Gene expression was assessed by real-time RT-PCR and PCR array. Results Intralipid increased FFAs by 17.6 folds and GIR was decreased by 27.1% compared to the control group. ApoM gene expression was decreased by 40.4% after Intralipid infusion. PPARβ/δ expression was not changed by Intralipid. Whereas the mRNA levels of Acaca, Acox1, Akt1, V-raf murine sarcoma 3611 viral oncogene homolog, G6pc, Irs2, Ldlr, Map2k1, pyruvate kinase and RBC were significantly increased in rat liver after Intralipid infusion. The Mitogen-activated protein kinase 8 (MAPK8) was significantly down-regulated in 293T cells overexpressing ApoM. Overexpression of human ApoM in GK rats could enhance the glucose-lowering effect of exogenous insulin. Conclusion These results suggest that Intralipid could decrease hepatic ApoM levels. ApoM overexpression may have a potential role in improving insulin resistance in vivo and modulating apoM expression might be a future therapeutic strategy against insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes.

Estrogen upregulates hepatic apolipoprotein M expression via the estrogen receptor

Apolipoprotein M (apoM) is present predominantly in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in human plasma, thus possibly involved in the regulation of HDL metabolism and the process of atherosclerosis. Although estrogen replacement therapy increases serum levels of apoAI and HDL, it does not seem to reduce the cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women. Therefore, we investigated the effects of estrogen on apoM expression in vitro and in vivo. HepG2 cells were incubated with different concentrations of estrogen with or without the estrogen receptor antagonist, fulvestrant, and apoM expression in the cells was determined. Hepatic apoM expression and serum levels of apoM were also determined in normal and in ovariectomized rats treated with either placebo or estradiol benzoate, using sham operated rats as controls. Estrogen significantly increased mRNA levels of apoM and apoAI in HepG2 cell cultures in a dose- and time-dependent manner; the upregulation of both apolipoproteins was fully abolished by addition of estrogen receptor antagonist. In normal rats, estrogen treatment led to an increase in plasma lipid levels including HDL cholesterol, a marked upregulation of apoM mRNA and a significant increase in serum levels of apoM. The same pattern of regulation was found in ovariectomized rats treated with estrogen. Thus, estrogen upregulates apoM expression both in vivo and in vitro by mechanism(s) involving the estrogen receptor.

Palmitic acid suppresses apolipoprotein M gene expression via the pathway of PPARβ/δ in HepG2 cells.

It has been demonstrated that apolipoprotein M (APOM) is a vasculoprotective constituent of high density lipoprotein (HDL), which could be related to the anti-atherosclerotic property of HDL. Investigation of regulation of APOM expression is of important for further exploring its pathophysiological function in vivo. Our previous studies indicated that expression of APOM could be regulated by platelet activating factor (PAF), transforming growth factors (TGF), insulin-like growth factor (IGF), leptin, hyperglycemia and etc., in vivo and/or in vitro. In the present study, we demonstrated that palmitic acid could significantly inhibit APOM gene expression in HepG2 cells. Further study indicated neither PI-3 kinase (PI3K) inhibitor LY294002 nor protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor GFX could abolish palmitic acid induced down-regulation of APOM expression. In contrast, the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor beta/delta (PPARβ/δ) antagonist GSK3787 could totally reverse the palmitic acid-induced down-regulation of APOM expression, which clearly demonstrates that down-regulation of APOM expression induced by palmitic acid is mediated via the PPARβ/δ pathway.

Determination of single-nucleotide polymorphism in the proximal promoter region of apolipoprotein M gene in coronary artery diseases

Objective: It has been reported that single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the proximal promoter region of apolipoprotein M (apoM) gene may confer the risk in the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and coronary artery disease (CAD) in the Han Chinese. However, in a recent study demonstrated that plasma apoM level did not correlated to the coronary heart disease. In the present studies, we investigated the SNP T-778C of apoM gene in CAD patients and controls in the Han Chinese population. Moreover we examined whether serum apoM levels could be influenced by this promoter mutation. Material and methods: One hundred twenty-six CAD patients and 118 non-CAD patients were subjected in the present study. All patients were confirmed by the angiography. The genotyping of polymorphisms T-778C in apoM promoter was determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Serum apoM levels were semi-quantitatively determined by the dot-blotting analysis. Results: Distribution of apoM T-778C genotype in non-CAD patients was as following: 84.7% were T/T, 15.3% were T/C and 0.0% was C/C. T allele frequencies were 92.4% and C allele, 7.6%. In the CAD patients, 99 patients (78.6%) had the T/T genotype, 25 patients (19.8%) with T/C genotype and 2 patients (1.6%) with C/C genotype. The allele frequency was 88.5% for the T allele and 11.5% for the C allele. There was no statistical significant difference of serum apoM levels found in these three genotypes. Conclusions: There was no significant difference in allele or genotype frequencies between CAD patients and non-CAD patients. Binary logistic regression analysis with adjustments for age, gender, triglycerides, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, apoAI, apoB, and LP(a) indicated that the TC and CC genotypes in SNP T-778C were not significantly associated with the development of CAD (odds ratio = 1.510, 95% confidence interval: 0.756–3.017; p = 0.243).

Decreased activities of apolipoprotein m promoter are associated with the susceptibility to coronary artery diseases.

The present study investigated the correlation among genetic polymorphisms of the proximal promoter region of apolipoprotein M (apoM) gene, the polymorphisms in relation to apoM expressions and the susceptibility to coronary artery diseases (CAD) in a Han Chinese population. Four common polymorphic sites, i.e., T-1628G, C-1065A, T-855C and T-778C, were confirmed, and a new deletion mutation C-724del was found, in 206 CAD patients and 209 non-CAD patients using direct DNA sequencing analyses. Occurrences of alleles T-1628G, T-855C and C-724del were significantly higher in CAD patients compared to non-CAD patients. Moreover we examined all these polymorphisms in relation to apoM expression by applying luciferase reporter assay. It demonstrated that constructs -855C and 724del showed obvious decreased luciferase activities, i.e., (0.93±0.15 vs. 2.11±0.15; P=0.012) and (1.13±0.25 vs. 2.11±0.15; P=0.009) respectively, which indicates these two polymorphisms could confer decreased apoM expressions. Meanwhile the occurrences of these two SNP were also significantly higher in the CAD patients than in non-CAD patients. It is therefore reasonable to speculate that down-regulated apoM expressions in relation to these polymorphisms may affect HDL and cholesterol metabolism in vivo and further influence the susceptibility to CAD, although the underlying mechanisms need further investigation.

Expression of apolipoprotein M in human hepatocellular carcinoma tissues

The present study examined mRNA levels and protein mass of apolipoprotein M (apoM) in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and in the adjacent tissues. Plasma apoM levels in these HCC patients were also determined and compared to the normal subjects. The mean level of plasma apoM in the HCC patients was 0.61±0.30ODmm⁻², which was significantly higher than that in the normal subjects 0.37±0.07ODmm⁻² (P<0.01). However, both apoM mRNA levels and apoM protein mass in the HCC tissues were significantly lower than in the adjacent tissues (P<0.05). It is concluded that human hepatocellular carcinoma tissues had a reduced capacity to produce apoM than the adjacent non-tumor tissues. However, the plasma apoM levels were higher in the HCC patients than in normal subjects, which suggested that tissues adjacent to the tumors or extra-hepatic apoM production in the HCC patients may contribute to the higher plasma apoM levels in these patients. The clinical significance of apoM in relation to HCC still needs further investigation.

Salidroside protects against homocysteine-induced injury in human umbilical vein endothelial cells via the regulation of endoplasmic reticulum stress

INTRODUCTION Previous studies showed that homocysteine (Hcy) could injure vascular endothelial cells via several mechanisms, including its promotion of oxidative stress pathway and endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER stress) pathway. Salidroside (SAL) is an active component of Rhodiola rosea with documented antioxidative properties. Emerging evidence conformed that SAL attenuated Hcy-induced endothelial dysfunction by reducing oxidative stress. However, its role in ER stress pathway remains unclarified. AIMS The purpose of this study was to explore the mechanism of the protective effect of SAL on Hcy-induced endothelial dysfunction. RESULTS Pretreatment of the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with SAL significantly reduced the cell damage effects brought by Hcy in a dose-dependent manner. Functional studies on the HUVECs found that SAL rescued the endoplasmic reticulum stress induced by Hcy. The underlying mechanisms involve the inhibition of Hcy-induced activation of binding protein (Bip) and C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), as well as the phosphorylation of protein kinase RNA-like ER kinase (PERK) or inositol-requiring enzyme 1 alpha (IRE1α). CONCLUSIONS Taken together, these findings implicate that SAL could regulate ER stress pathway on the viability of endotheliocyte induced by Hcy in vitro. Our findings provide the first evidence that SAL plays an important role in endotheliocyte protection via suppressing ER stress pathway in HUVEC cells and that it may be a promising therapeutic target for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.