531 Cardiovascular comorbidities are associated with increased LL37 which promotes the uptake of low-density lipoprotein into macrophages

Abstract

LL37 is increased in sera of obese patients and in patients with psoriasis and rosacea. These diseases all have significant cardiac comorbidities. Since LL37 is a multifunctional molecule that also promotes inflammation through its capacity to enhance the uptake of nucleic acids into the cytosol, we hypothesized that it may also contribute to development of cardiovascular disease by influencing cellular lipid accumulation. To test this, we first studied lipoprotein uptake and delivery into macrophages in the presence of LL37 or a C-terminal 3aa truncated peptide (LL34) by using Phrodo-labeled fluorescent LDL.