Intense impact of IL-1β expressing inflammatory macrophages in acute aortic dissection

Abstract

There is no treatment for acute aortic dissection (AAD) targeting inflammatory cells. We aimed to identify the new therapeutic targets associated with inflammatory cells. We characterized the specific distribution of myeloid cells of both human type A AAD samples and a murine AAD model generated using angiotensin II (ANGII) and β-aminopropionitrile (BAPN) by single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). We also examined the effect of an anti-interleukin-1β (IL-1β) antibody in the murine AAD model. IL1B+ inflammatory macrophages and classical monocytes were increased in human AAD samples. Trajectory analysis demonstrated that IL1B+ inflammatory macrophages differentiated from S100A8/9/12+ classical monocytes uniquely observed in the aorta of AAD. We found increased infiltration of neutrophils and monocytes with the expression of inflammatory cytokines in the aorta and accumulation of inflammatory macrophages before the onset of macroscopic AAD in the murine AAD model. In blocking experiments using an anti-IL-1β antibody, it improved survival of murine AAD model by preventing elastin degradation. We observed the accumulation of inflammatory macrophages expressing IL-1β in both human AAD samples and in a murine AAD model. Anti-IL-1β antibody could improve the mortality rate in mice, suggesting that it may be a treatment option for AAD.