Apolipoprotein A1 Inhibits the TGF-β1-Induced Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition of Human Coronary Artery Endothelial Cells

Abstract

Objective: Transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) is the major cytokine for stimulating endothelial cells (ECs) to transdifferentiate to mesenchymal cells (MCs) in the process known as endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT). Recently, TGF-β1-induced EndMT has been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis (AS). It has been identified that apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA-I) obstructs TGF-β1-induced endothelial dysfunction, providing a protective effect for ECs and also anti-AS activity. However, the exact role of ApoA-I in TGF-β1-induced EndMT is not clear. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether ApoA-I can modulate TGF-β1-induced EndMT in human coronary artery ECs (HCAECs). Methods and Results: The HCAECs were treated with TGF-β1 with or without ApoA-I. Morphological changes in HCAECs and the expression of EndMT-related markers were evaluated. HCAECs treated with TGF-β1 were found to transform to MC morphology, with inconspicuous expression of EC markers such as vascular endothelial cadherin and CD31, and conspicuous expression of fibroblast-specific protein 1 (FSP-1) and α-smooth muscle actin. The treatment of HCAECs with ApoA-I inhibited the TGF-β1-induced EndMT, and elevated expression of EC markers was observed but reduced expression of MC markers. Moreover, ApoA-I impeded the expression level of Slug and Snail, crucial transcriptional factors of EndMT, and it inhibited the TGF-β1-induced phosphorylation of Smad2 and Smad3 which affected the EC morphology. In addition, the knockdown of ABCA1 by RNA interference eliminated the inhibition effect of ApoA-I on TGF-β1-induced EndMT. Conclusions: Our findings revealed a novel mechanism for the ApoA-I protective effect on endothelium function via the inhibition of TGF-β1-induced EndMT. This might provide new insights for developing strategies for modulating AS and vascular remodeling.