Margot Grandl

Induction of fatty acid synthesis is a key requirement for phagocytic differentiation of human monocytes

Monocytes are precursors of macrophages. Here we demonstrate that macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF)-dependent differentiation of primary human monocytes from healthy volunteers induces transcription of SREBP-1c target genes required for fatty acid (FA) biosynthesis and impairs transcription of SREBP-2 target genes required for cholesterol synthesis. Detailed lipid metabolic profiling showed that this transcriptional regulation leads to a dramatically increased fatty acid synthesis as driving force for enhanced phospholipid synthesis. During cell differentiation the major lipid class switches from cholesterol in monocytes to phosphatidylcholine in macrophages. Ultrastructural analysis revealed that this transcriptional and metabolic regulation is essential for development of macrophage filopodia and cellular organelles including primary lysosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi network. Additional functional studies showed that suppression of fatty acid synthesis prevents phagocytosis representing a central macrophage function. Therefore induction of fatty acid synthesis is a key requirement for phagocyte development and function.

Endolysosomal phospholipidosis and cytosolic lipid droplet storage and release in macrophages.

This review summarizes the current knowledge of endolysosomal and cytoplasmic lipid storage in macrophages induced by oxidized LDL (Ox-LDL), enzymatically degraded LDL (E-LDL) and other atherogenic lipoprotein modifications, and their relation to the adapter protein 3 (AP-3) dependent ABCA1 and ABCG1 cellular lipid efflux pathways. We compare endolysosomal lipid storage caused either through drug induced phospholipidosis, inheritable endolysosomal and cytosolic lipid storage disorders and Ox-LDL or E-LDL induced phagosomal uptake and cytosolic lipid droplet storage in macrophages. Ox-LDL is resistant to rapid endolysosomal hydrolysis and is trapped within the endolysosomal compartment generating lamellar bodies which resemble the characteristics of phospholipidosis. Various inherited lysosomal storage diseases including sphingolipidosis, glycosphingolipidosis and cholesterylester storage diseases also present a phospholipidosis phenotype. In contrast E-LDL resembling coreless unesterified cholesterol enriched LDL-particles, with a multilamellar, liposome-like structure, lead to rapid phagosomal degradation and cytosolic lipid droplet accumulation. As a consequence the uptake of E-LDL through type I and type II phagocytosis leads to increased lipid droplet formation and moderate upregulation of ABCA1 and ABCG1 while uptake of Ox-LDL leads to a rapid expansion of the lysosomal compartment and a pronounced upregulation of the ABCA1/ABCG1/AP-3 lipid efflux pathway.

E-LDL and Ox-LDL differentially regulate ceramide and cholesterol raft microdomains in human Macrophages†

Atherosclerosis is characterized by the generation of lipid‐loaded macrophage‐derived foam cells. To study the effect of different types of atherogenic lipoproteins, human macrophages were loaded with enzymatically degraded low density lipoprotein (E‐LDL) or oxidized LDL (Ox‐LDL). Cellular cholesterol content was increased by E‐LDL, whereas Ox‐LDL increased the ceramide content. Cell surface expression analysis by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy revealed that Ox‐LDL increased ceramide and lactosylceramide expression compared to E‐LDL loading and induced ceramide rafts, whereas loading with E‐LDL induced cholesterol‐rich microdomains. Formation of different rafts may have consequences for raft associated signaling in cholesterol homeostasis and apoptosis in human macrophages.

The Molecular Mechanisms of HDL and Associated Vesicular Trafficking Mechanisms to Mediate Cellular Lipid Homeostasis

HDL functions mainly as a cholesterol scavenger, facilitating transport of cholesterol to the liver for conversion to bile acids and secretion into the bile for elimination or recycling in the enterohepatic bile acid cycle. Because of its major function in cholesterol clearance, HDL is in general considered to be atheroprotective. From cell cholesterol can be removed by efflux especially to apoA-I and HDL as extracellular acceptors which transport the cholesterol to the liver for excretion. This process is called reverse cholesterol transport. In this context the ATP binding cassette transporter protein ABCA1 facilitates cellular cholesterol and phospholipid release to apoA-I–containing HDL precursors. In addition ABCA1 plays a role in vesicular lipid transport mechanisms required for HDL particle formation. In general to maintain intracellular lipid homeostasis, sterols and associated lipids move between cellular compartments by vesicular and nonvesicular pathways. However, cholesterol sorting on vesicle formation is poorly understood. This review summarizes the current knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of HDL and associated vesicular trafficking mechanisms to mediate cellular lipid homeostasis.

Fluorescent high-content imaging allows the discrimination and quantitation of E-LDL-induced lipid droplets and Ox-LDL-generated phospholipidosis in human macrophages.

Macrophage foam cells formed during uptake of atherogenic lipoproteins are a hallmark of atherosclerotic lesion development. In this study, human macrophages were incubated with two prototypic atherogenic LDL modifications enzymatically degraded LDL (E‐LDL) and oxidized LDL (Ox‐LDL) prepared from the same donor LDL. To detect differences in macrophage lipid storage, fluorescent high‐content imaging was used. Lipid droplets were stained using Bodipy 493/503, and the fluorescent phospholipid probe NBD‐PE was used to detect endolysosomal phospholipidosis in high‐content imaging assays. The phospholipidosis assay was validated using phospholipidosis‐inducing cationic amphiphilic drugs. In addition, neutral lipids and phospholipidosis were determined using LipidTOX. Images of 96‐well cell culture microtiter plates were captured with multichannel laser‐based high‐content confocal microscopy, and subsequently cell‐ and well‐based data were analyzed. E‐LDL‐loaded macrophages show increased intensity of Bodipy 493/503 and LipidTOX™‐Green neutral lipid droplet staining and a greater mean area and number of lipid droplets per cell compared to Ox‐LDL‐loaded and M‐CSF‐differentiated control macrophages. In contrast, Ox‐LDL‐loaded macrophages show increased intensity of NBD‐PE and LipidTOX™‐Red detectable phospholipidosis in the endolysosomal compartment compared to E‐LDL‐loaded and M‐CSF‐differentiated macrophages. Treatment with the peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐γ agonist pioglitazone leads to lipid droplet induction depending on the lipid loading state of the macrophages. These results indicate that E‐LDL preferentially induces lipid droplets, while Ox‐LDL provokes endolysosomal phospholipidosis in human macrophages representing two different lipid storage principles. Therefore, fluorescent high‐content imaging is a useful tool to discriminate between and quantify lipid storage compartments in macrophages also in response to drugs affecting cellular lipid metabolism.

Update on lipid membrane microdomains

Purpose of reviewLipid membrane microdomains are involved in major types of disease, ranging from vascular and metabolic diseases to neurodegeneration, autoimmunity, infectious and inflammatory diseases, and cancer. This review provides an update of membrane microdomain abnormalities. Recent findingsLipid membrane microdomains are dynamic assemblies of sphingolipids, cholesterol and proteins that dissociate and associate rapidly and form functional clusters. Membrane microdomain clustering is the key to how membrane microdomains can form lipid–protein platforms in cell membranes, functioning in membrane trafficking, cell polarization and signalling. Clustering of membrane microdomains can be modified, for example by dietary lipids and pharmacological agents. SummaryMetabolic overload through a cholesterol-rich and fat-rich diet can trigger metabolic learning, which is associated with membrane microdomain persistence, persistent signalling and disturbed vesicular traffic. Detailed characterization of lipid membrane microdomains and dynamics at the molecular level is necessary and will help to identify new dietary and pharmacological therapeutic targets for the treatment and prevention of lipid membrane microdomain related diseases.

Oxidized LDL-induced endolysosomal phospholipidosis and enzymatically modified LDL-induced foam cell formation determine specific lipid species modulation in human macrophages

Recruitment of circulating monocytes and formation of macrophage foam cells in the arterial intima are characteristic features of atherogenesis. Foam cells are formed by cellular uptake and storage of atherogenic lipoproteins, including oxidized LDL (oxLDL) and enzymatically modified LDL (eLDL). Dissection of oxLDL- and eLDL-induced cellular phenotypes indicates that these two LDL-modifications are coupled with two fundamentally different cellular responses in macrophages. Oxidized LDL preferentially up-regulates scavenger receptors required for its internalization, induces preferential lipid storage in the acidic compartment resembling drug-induced endolysosomal phospholipidosis, parallel with increased cellular content of the endolysosomal signature lipid bis(monoacylglycero)phosphate, pro-apoptotic signalling and appearance of ceramide-enriched surface membrane microdomains. By contrast, challenge of macrophages by eLDL leads to expanded cholesterol- and sphingomyelin-enriched surface membrane microdomains, up-regulation of diverse pattern recognition receptors required for phagocytosis of eLDL, parallel with extensive lipid droplet formation, increased endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-stress and membrane contact site formation for interorganelle trafficking and signalling, and enhanced cellular content of the mitochondrial lipid cardiolipin. This review focuses on biological activities of oxLDL and eLDL in human macrophages, and discusses some lipidomic considerations related to foam cell formation and phospholipidosis.

Analyzing M-CSF dependent monocyte/macrophage differentiation: Expression modes and meta-modes derived from an independent component analysis

BackgroundThe analysis of high-throughput gene expression data sets derived from microarray experiments still is a field of extensive investigation. Although new approaches and algorithms are published continuously, mostly conventional methods like hierarchical clustering algorithms or variance analysis tools are used. Here we take a closer look at independent component analysis (ICA) which is already discussed widely as a new analysis approach. However, deep exploration of its applicability and relevance to concrete biological problems is still missing. In this study, we investigate the relevance of ICA in gaining new insights into well characterized regulatory mechanisms of M-CSF dependent macrophage differentiation.ResultsStatistically independent gene expression modes (GEM) were extracted from observed gene expression signatures (GES) through ICA of different microarray experiments. From each GEM we deduced a group of genes, henceforth called sub-mode. These sub-modes were further analyzed with different database query and literature mining tools and then combined to form so called meta-modes. With them we performed a knowledge-based pathway analysis and reconstructed a well known signal cascade.ConclusionWe show that ICA is an appropriate tool to uncover underlying biological mechanisms from microarray data. Most of the well known pathways of M-CSF dependent monocyte to macrophage differentiation can be identified by this unsupervised microarray data analysis. Moreover, recent research results like the involvement of proliferation associated cellular mechanisms during macrophage differentiation can be corroborated.

Highly efficient and low-cost method to isolate human blood monocytes with high purity

Several techniques are available to purify circulating blood monocytes for research. CD14-containing MicroBeads are suitable and reliable tools to reproducibly isolate human monocytes with a high purity but are quite expensive. This report describes that a comparable number of highly pure monocytes can be isolated from samples using up to tenfold lower amounts of CD14-MicroBeads. MicroBeads are widely used to isolate different cell populations and with this report more researchers may be encouraged to use this highly efficient, low-cost and thus affordable method to pursue their scientific goals.

Monocyte to Macrophage Differentiation Goes along with Modulation of the Plasmalogen Pattern through Transcriptional Regulation

Background Dysregulation of monocyte-macrophage differentiation is a hallmark of vascular and metabolic diseases and associated with persistent low grade inflammation. Plasmalogens represent ether lipids that play a role in diabesity and previous data show diminished plasmalogen levels in obese subjects. We therefore analyzed transcriptomic and lipidomic changes during monocyte-macrophage differentiation in vitro using a bioinformatic approach. Methods Elutriated monocytes from 13 healthy donors were differentiated in vitro to macrophages using rhM-CSF under serum-free conditions. Samples were taken on days 0, 1, 4 and 5 and analyzed for their lipidomic and transcriptomic profiles. Results Gene expression analysis showed strong regulation of lipidome-related transcripts. Enzymes involved in fatty acid desaturation and elongation were increasingly expressed, peroxisomal and ER stress related genes were induced. Total plasmalogen levels remained unchanged, while the PE plasmalogen species pattern became more similar to circulating granulocytes, showing decreases in PUFA and increases in MUFA. A partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS/DA) revealed that PE plasmalogens discriminate the stage of monocyte-derived macrophage differentiation. Partial correlation analysis could predict novel potential key nodes including DOCK1, PDK4, GNPTAB and FAM126A that might be involved in regulating lipid and especially plasmalogen homeostasis during differentiation. An in silico transcription analysis of lipid related regulation revealed known motifs such as PPAR-gamma and KLF4 as well as novel candidates such as NFY, RNF96 and Zinc-finger proteins. Conclusion Monocyte to macrophage differentiation goes along with profound changes in the lipid-related transcriptome. This leads to an induction of fatty-acid desaturation and elongation. In their PE-plasmalogen profile macrophages become more similar to granulocytes than monocytes, indicating terminal phagocytic differentiation. Therefore PE plasmalogens may represent potential biomarkers for cell activation. For the underlying transcriptional network we were able to predict a range of novel central key nodes and underlying transcription factors using a bioinformatic approach.