La expresión de hemoxigenasa 1 (HO-1) ha demostrado estar sobre-regulada en el cáncer colorrectal (CCR), pero el papel que desempeña en este tipo de cáncer aún no se ha dilucidado. Los objetivos de este estudio han sido analizar la expresión de HO-1 en CCR invasivo humano, evaluar su correlación con parámetros clínicos -histopatológicos e investigar los mecanismos por los cuales la enzima influye en la progresión tumoral. Se confirmó que HO-1 fue sobre-expresada en CCR invasivo humano y se encontró que la expresión de la enzima se asocia con un mayor tiempo de supervivencia global de los pacientes. Además, se observó, en un modelo de CCR en ratas inducido químicamente con 1,2-dimetilhidrazina que la expresión total y nuclear de HO-1 aumenta con la progresión tumoral. El estudio de los mecanismos implicados en la acción de la HO-1 en CCR demostró que la proteína reduce la viabilidad celular a través de la inducción de la detención del ciclo celular y de la apoptosis; y que se requiere la proteína supresora de tumores p53 funcional para estos efectos. Esta reducción en la viabilidad celular se acompaña por la modulación de los niveles de p21, p27, ciclina D1, Bax, uPARP y por la modulación de las vías de caspasa-3, Akt y PKC´s. También, en modelos animales murinos, se demostró que la modulación genética y farmacológica de HO-1 reduce la tasa de crecimiento y la carga tumoral cuando p53 se encuentra en su estado salvaje. En adición, se observó que la sobre-expresión de HO-1 reduce la migración e invasión celular. En conclusión, estos resultados demuestran un papel antitumoral de HO-1 apuntando a la importancia de la condición de p53 en esta actividad antitumoral. / The expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) was shown to be up-regulated in colorectal cancer (CRC), but the its role in this type of cancer has not yet been elucidated. The objectives of this study were to analyze the expression of HO-1 in human invasive CRC, to evaluate its correlation with clinical-histopathological parameters and to investigate the mechanisms by which the enzyme affects tumor progression. It was confirmed that HO-1 was over-expressed in invasive human CRC and was found that the expression of the enzyme is associated with an increased overall survival time of patients. Furthermore, it was observed in a chemical animal model of CRC induced in rats with 1,2-dimethylhydrazine that the total and the nuclear expression of HO-1 increased with tumor progression. The study of the mechanisms involved in the action of HO-1 protein in CRC, showed that the protein reduces cell viability through induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis; and functional suppressor protein p53 is required for this purpose. This reduction in cell viability is accompanied by modulation of the levels of p21, p27, cyclin D1, Bax, uPARP and modulation of caspase-3, Akt and PKC's pathways. Also, in animal murine models, it was demonstrated that genetic and pharmacological modulation of HO-1 reduces the rate of growth of tumors and the tumor load when wild type p53 is present. In addition, we observed that overexpression of HO-1 decreases migration and cell invasion. Altogether, this results show an antitumor role of HO-1 pointing to the importance of p53 status with its antitumor activiy.

La mise au point de médicaments ciblant la neuroinflammation, une composante importante de la physiopathologie des maladies neurodégénératives, fait l’objet de nombreuses recherches. Dans ce travail de thèse, nous avons étudié les effets de deux molécules potentiellement anti-inflammatoires et neuroprotectrices : l’hémine, un inducteur de l’hème oxygénase 1(HO-1) et ; le C16, un inhibiteur de la protéine kinase activée par l’ARN (PKR) dans un modèle de neuroinflammation in vivo par injection intrastriatale d’acide quinolinique (AQ) chez le rat. Nos résultats ont montré que l’induction de la HO-1 produit des effets délétères tandis que l’inhibition de la PKR induit des effets neuroprotecteurs et antiapoptotiques. Ce travail a par ailleurs permis de décrire l’évolution cinétique de la neuroinflammation sur 90 jours dans le modèle AQ, la capacité du tissu cérébral à se régénérer après la lésion et l’intérêt de ce modèle dans l’étude des effets d’agents neuroprotecteurs administrés au long cours. / Neuroinflammation is a key part of the physiopathology of neurodegenerative diseases and is an interesting target in their treatment. In this PhD work, we studied the effects of two potentially anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective molecules, hemin and C16, in an in vivo rat model of neuroinflammation by intrastriatal injection of quinolinic acid (QA). We showed that heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) induction by hemin has deleterious effects whereas inhibition of the protein kinase RNA activated (PKR) by C16 treatment induced neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects. Concurrently, we evaluated longitudinal evolution of neuroinflammation in our model. Results showed the kinetic of the inflammatory phenomena; the ability of cerebral tissue to recover integrity and the capability of this model to evaluate potential neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory drugs in a long-time study.

Ischaemia/Reperfusion Injury (IRI) is the most common cause of acute kidney injury- a devastating clinical problem lacking any specific treatments to promote renal recovery. Macrophages (Mφ) are pleiotropic cells of the innate immune system, with roles spanning host defence, cytotoxicity, clearance of apoptotic cells and promotion of tissue repair. Mφ are also known to be important mediators of renal injury in other experimental models of renal disease including transplantation, obstruction and glomerulonephritis. This work sought to examine the role of Mφ in mediating renal IRI. Conditional renal Mφ and monocyte depletion prior to experimental IRI was achieved by administering diphtheria toxin to the CD11b-DTR transgenic animal. This had no impact on either renal function or structural injury. In contrast liposomal clodronate mediated Mφ depletion provided functional and structural protection from injury. Administration of exogenous apoptotic cells also protected renal function if delivered 24h prior to IRI. Immunodeficient SCID mice exhibited a protected injury phenotype after IRI, however derived no additional protection from the administration of either liposomal clodronate or i.v. apoptotic cells. These findings suggest that the protective phenotype must involve either lymphocyte populations or circulating antibody. Preliminary work demonstrates that SCID mice lack IgM natural antibody which deposits in the kidney in the first 30 minutes after IRI. It was also demonstrated that apoptotic cells bind IgM natural antibody present within the circulation. The potential for the key antioxidant enzyme Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) to protect renal function was also examined in aged mice using hemearginate (HA) - a potent HO-1 inducer. Echoing epidemiological studies in humans aged mice had increased susceptibility to IRI, whilst failing to induce medullary HO-1. The main site of medullary HO-1 induction by HA was in medullary Mφ, and the protective phenotype was abolished by Mφ ablation, implicating Mφ as the key mediators of HA induced protection in renal IRI. Final studies employed adenoviral transduction to overexpress HO-1 within bone marrow derived Mφ, leading to a modified phenotype with increased IL- 10 and phagocytosis, and reduced TNFα and NO production. When these were introduced in vivo after IRI renal function was improved, potentially due to accelerated clearance of renal platelet deposition.

Transplantation is the optimal form of therapy for patients with end-stage liver disease; however, the use of organs with hepatic steatosis is often associated with increased risks for poor function and graft loss. In addition, ischemia reperfusion (IR) injury leads to cellular damage that can culminate in functional impairment and loss of graft. Furthermore, IR injury is aggravated by pre-existing steatosis and may involve additional mechanisms and mediators of cellular damage. Current models to study IR in vitro are not well defined and may overlook periods of injury that are involved in transplantation. In this thesis, I present an in vitro model for IR injury that includes multiple phases of injury and leads to the upregulation of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), and possibly enhances the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9). As graft HO-1 expression correlates positively with reduced injury, but MMP-9 expression is associated with increased injury, I therefore examined the utility of in vitro gene therapies to affect the expression of these proteins. We conclude that the in vitro model of ischemia and reperfusion is a promising tool to study the cellular response to IR and may provide a platform for the development of future therapies which could have clinical applications.

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Algumas variações genéticas têm sido associadas a diferenças no potencial para indução de apoptose e a alterações na produção de citocinas, tais como os polimorfismos de base única (SNPs) TNF-308G>A, DDX39B -22 G>C e -348C>T. Outra característica que acompanha a evolução da infecção é o estresse oxidativo sistêmico e o aumento da peroxidação. A Heme oxigenase-1 (HO-1) é o principal agente anti-oxidante expresso no tecido pulmonar, uma enzima de resposta ao estresse que degrada moléculas heme para a liberação de íons ferro, monóxido de carbono (CO) e biliverdina (BV). O presente trabalho propôs investigar fatores genéticos e imunológicos relacionados à imunopatogênese da TB e co-infecção TB-HIV. Para a realização do trabalho foram realizados: 1) uma revisão sistemática da literatura sobre os polimorfismos genéticos envolvidos nas vias e morte e associados com TB, 2) um estudo observacional de corte transversal para determinar a frequência de polimorfismos em voluntários monoinfectados com TB latente ou ativa e coinfectados com TB-HIV. Para este último foram recrutados 109 pacientes com tuberculose pulmonar (PTB), 60 pacientes coinfectados com HIV (TB-HIV) e 74 indivíduos com infecção tuberculosa latente (LTBI), e 3) Uma coorte avaliando os níveis de HO-1 e MMP-1 em pacientes com TB. Na revisão sistemática os polimorfismos dos genes do TNF, TNFR, IL-1 e P2RX7 estavam associados com tuberculose. No estudo de corte transversal a frequência do genótipo TNF-308G foi maior para o grupo LTBI comparado com TB e TB-HIV. A produção de TNF foi maior 8 entre os pacientes com PTB portadores do genótipo TNF -308GG. Os níveis de IL- 1α e IL-1β também foram mais elevados entre os pacientes com PTB portadores dos genótipos DDX39B -22CC e DDX39B -348CC. Não houve relação entre a produção de citocinas e a extensão da doença. Na coorte, os pacientes com TB apresentaram uma dicotomia na resposta de HO-1 MMP-1 com dois fenótipos, HO-1hiMMP-1lo e MMP-1 HO-1loMMP-1hi. Nosso estudo sugere que polimorfismos envolvidos na via de morte podem estar associados com susceptibilidade para o desenvolvimento da tuberculose, contudo, a frequência dos alelos e genótipos para os polimorfismos estudados não diferiram na co-infecção pelo HIV. O mecanismo entre o estresse oxidativo e remodelamento do tecido pode ter aplicabilidade clínica nos estágios da progressão da TB. / Mycobacterium tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) act synergistically damaging immune response to eliminate both pathogens. Genetic factors of the host can be decisive for the risk of progression of tuberculosis (TB) and HIV infection. Some genetic changes have been associated with differences in potential for induction of apoptosis and changes in cytokine production such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) TNF-308G> A, DDX39B -22 G> C and -348C> T. Another feature that monitors the infection is systemic oxidative stress and increased peroxidation. The heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is the primary anti-oxidant expressed in lung tissue, a response of the enzyme to stress that degrades heme molecules to the release of iron ions, carbon monoxide (CO), and biliverdin (BV) . This study proposed to investigate genetic and immunological factors related to TB immunopathogenesis and co-infection TB-HIV. To carry out the work were performed: 1) a systematic review of the literature on genetic polymorphisms involved in the pathways and death associated with TB, 2) an observational cross-sectional study to determine the frequency of polymorphisms in volunteers monoinfected with latent TB or active and co-infected with TB-HIV. For the latter were recruited 109 patients with pulmonary TB (PTB), 60 patients co-infected with HIV (HIV-TB) and 74 individuals with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), and 3) a cohort evaluating the levels of HO-1 and MMP- 1 in patients with TB. In the systematic review of TNF polymorphisms of genes, TNFR, IL-1 and P2RX7 were associated with tuberculosis. In the cross-sectional study the frequency of TNF-308G genotype was higher for LTBI group compared with TB and TB-HIV. The production of TNF was higher among patients with PTB patients TNF -308GG genotype. IL-1α and IL-1β were also higher among patients 10 with genotypes of PTB patients DDX39B -22CC and DDX39B -348CC. No relation between the production of cytokines and the extent of disease. In cohort, patients with TB presented a dichotomy in HO-1 MMP-1 response with two phenotypes, HO- 1hiMMP-1lo HO-1 and MMP-1loMMP-1hi. Our study suggests that polymorphisms involved in the death pathway may be associated with susceptibility to the development of tuberculosis, however, the frequency of alleles and genotypes for the studied polymorphisms did not differ in co-infection with HIV. The mechanism of oxidative stress and remodeling of the tissue may have clinical applicability in the progression of TB staging.

Ein wesentliches Merkmal der Immundepression ist eine Monozytendeaktivierung mit verminderter Antigenpräsentation und Sekretion proinflammatorischer Zytokine. Infolge dessen sind Patienten mit Immundepression besonders anfällig gegenüber Infektionen. Als mögliche Mediatoren werden antiinflammatorische Zytokin wie IL10 und TGF-beta diskutiert, deren immunhemmende Wirkung allerdings nach Ihrem Entfernen schnell reversibel ist. An der Entwicklung einer langanhaltenden Immundepression müssen demnach weitere Mediatoren beteiligt sein. Eine Studie mit Patienten nach Herz-Operationen zeigte eine Korrelation zwischen einer erhöhten Anfälligkeit gegenüber Infektionen und einer Überexpression des Hitzeschockproteins Hämoxygenase-1 (HO-1) in peripheren Blutleukozyten, dem in vielen Studien eine antiinflammatorische und cytoprotektive Wirkung zugeschrieben wird. Eine Porphyrin-induzierte HO-1 Überexpression in humanen Monozyten korreliert mit einer verminderten MHC-II Expression. Allerdings kann eine Hemmung der HO-1-Expression diesen Effekt nicht aufheben, so dass die verwendeten Porphyrine die Antigenpräsentation durch HO-1-unabhängige Mechanismen beeinflussen müssen. Während sich die Hemmung der IFN-Gamma-induzierten MHC-II Expression durch eine gleichzeitig verminderte STAT-1-Phosphorylierung erklären lässt, ist die Porphyrin-induzierte Hemmung der konstitutiven MHC-II-Expression unabhängig von STAT-1. Zudem konnte weder eine Abhängigkeit von STAT-3, noch von einer verstärkten Histonacetylierung oder PKA-Aktivierung gezeigt werden. Die Ergebnisse deuten zudem darauf hin, dass die Porphyrin-Effekte nicht über eine Interaktion mit dem Hämoglobin-Scavenger Rezeptor CD163 induziert werden. Eine Porphyrin-Behandlung von Monozyten in vitro resultiert in einem ähnlichen Phänotyp, wie er in Monozyten von immundepressiven Patienten beobachtet wird, so dass ein verbessertes Wissen über die beeinflussten Signalwege neue Ansätze zur frühzeitigen Behandlung einer Immundepression liefern kann. / A long lasting immunodepression is characterised by a deactivation of the function of monocytes with decreased antigen presentation and decreased secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines. This may predispose patients with immunodepression to infectious complications. Although anti-inflammatory cytokines as IL-10 and TGF-beta are discussed, the mechanism that induces and sustains this long lasting immunodepression is still incompletely understood. A previous study with patients after cardiac surgery could show a correlation between over expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in peripheral blood leukocytes and an increased susceptibility to infection related complications. HO-1 is a stress-inducible heat shock protein with potent anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective properties. A porphyrin-induced HO-1 overexpression in human monocytes correlates with decreased MHC-II expression. However, inhibition of HO-1 expression does not abrogate this effect. According to this, porphyrins must affect the antigen presentation by HO-1-independent mechanisms. While the inhibition of IFN-Gamma-induced MHC-II expression could be explained by a simultaneously decreased STAT-1 phosphorylation, the porphyrin-induced inhibition of the constitutive MHC-II expression is independent of STAT-1. Moreover, neither STAT-3 activity, nor an increased histone acetylation or PKA activation is clearly involved in porphyrin mediated inhibition of MHC-II. The results further suggest that the porphyrin-effects are not induced by an interaction with the hemoglobin scavenger receptor CD163. Nevertheless a porphyrin-treatment of monocytes in vitro results in a similar phenotype, as observed in monocytes from patients with immunodepression. Therefore, better understanding of the involved pathways could reveal new approaches for the early treatment of patients with immunodepression.

Die Schwangerschaft ist ein komplexer Vorgang, bei dem es zu einer Interaktion zwischen dem mütterlichen Immunsystem und dem Fetus kommt. Der allogene Fetus kann als natürlich auftretendes Allotransplantat angesehen werden. Man nimmt daher an, dass die Toleranzmechanismen, die im Rahmen einer erfolgreichen Schwangerschaft auftreten, den Mechanismen zur Akzeptanz eines Transplantates ähnlich sind. HO-1 wurde als ein gewebe-schützendes und anti-apoptotisches Molekül beschrieben, welches eine wichtige Rolle bei der Akzeptanz von Transplantaten spielt. Verschiedene Studien konnten zeigen, dass HO-1 in der Plazenta verschiedener Spezies exprimiert wird und dass die Expression von HO-1 bei Schwangerschaftskomplikationen, wie dem spontanen Abort, vermindert ist. Dies lässt vermuten, dass HO im Laufe der Schwangerschaft eine Rolle spielt. In diesem Kontext sollte die vorliegende Arbeit das Verständnis über die Funktion von HO-1 bei den beiden Schwangerschaftskomplikationen spontaner Abort und Präeklampsie (Schwangerschaftshypertonie) erweitern. Mit Hilfe des Mausmodells für einen spontanen Abort, bei dem weibliche CBA/J Mäuse mit männlichen DAB/2J Mäusen verpaart werden, wurde der Einfluss der HO-1 Expression auf die Abortrate untersucht und mit BALB/c-verpaarten CBA/J Weibchen, welche eine normale Schwangerschaft aufweisen, verglichen. In Mäusen mit spontanem Abort zeigte sich eine Reduktion der HO-1 und HO-2 Expression. Die Induktion von HO-1 mittels Co-PP war in der Lage, die Abortrate zu senken, wohingegen eine Reduktion der HO-1 mittels Zn-PP die Abortrate erhöhte. Es zeigte sich, dass es neben der Induktion von HO-1 auch zu einer erhöhten Expression des anti-apoptotischen Moleküls Bag-1 kam. Im Mausmodell für Präeklampsie wurde ebenfalls die Expression von HO-1 und möglicher Interaktionspartner untersucht. Des Weiteren wurde der Einfluss einer erhöhten bzw. verminderten HO-1 Expression auf die Präeklampsie-ähnlichen Symptome in diesem Mausmodell analysiert. Im Laufe der Arbeit zeigte sich jedoch, dass HO-1 Veränderungen keinen Einfluss auf die Präeklampsie-ähnlichen Symptome hat. Die Daten dieser Arbeit lassen vermuten, dass eine erhöhte Expression von HO-1 zum Zeitpunkt der Implantation den Fetus vor einem spontanen Abort schützt und dass die protektive Funktion von HO-1 durch eine Interaktion mit anti-apoptotischen Molekülen wird. Bei der Präeklampsie hingegen scheint HO-1 keine bzw. nur eine untergeordnete Rolle zu spielen. / Pregnancy maintenance is a very complex phenomenon, involving interactions between the maternal immune system and the semiallogenic foetus, which does not lead to immune rejection but to tolerance. Thus it is thought that the tolerance mechanisms involved in a successful pregnancy are closely related to those allowing graft acceptances. Heme Oxygenases (HO) were described to be tissue-protective and to have anti-apoptotic properties. Up-regulation of HO, particularly of HO-1, allows tissue tolerance after transplantation. The presence of HO-1 had been reported in the placenta of different species during normally progressing pregnancies; in pregnancy complications like spontaneous abortion the levels of HO-1 were reduced. This led to the proposal that HO-1 may play a protective role. The aim of this work was to analyze the influence of HO-1 changes in the outcome of pregnancy, using two different murine models for pregnancy complications, namely of spontaneous abortion and pre-eclampsia. The influence of HO-1 expression on the abortion rate was analysed in DBA/2J-mated CBA/J females, which spontaneously show high abortion rates compared to BALB/c-mated CBA/J females, having fully normal pregnancy. The induction of HO-1 by Co-PP led to diminished abortion rates, while the blocking of HO-1 and HO-2 by Zn-PP boosted abortion. In mice with reduced abortion rates after HO-1 induction, up-regulated levels of the anti-apoptotic molecule Bag-1 could be observed. In mice showing signs for preeclampsia after transfer of Th1 activated cells, the expression of HO-1, Th1/Th2 and eNOS was analysed. Furthermore HO-1 was of up- or down-regulated by using Co-PP or Zn-PP respectively. HO-1 changes did not influence the outcome of the disease, as we could not observe a diminution in the blood pressure levels. In summary, the results of this study indicate that high levels of HO-1 during implantation are able to prevent foetal rejection and that the beneficial effects of the HO-1 induction are related to the up-regulation of tissue protective molecules as Bag-1. No relationship could be observed between HO-1 levels and preeclampsia outcome.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is an increasingly diagnosed constellation of injuries derived from acute mechanical trauma to the brain. With the rise of advanced neuroimaging techniques recent focus has oriented primarily towards the mild-moderate range of TBI which previously was missed diagnostically. Characteristically, these advances have shown increasing areas of micro-hemorrhage in susceptible areas of the brain and to date there are no treatment modalities targeting micro-hemorrhages or their sequelae. This dissertation explores the effects of the resulting heme processing response in the days following injury with a particular focus on inducing early heme clearance from the parenchyma using a rat central fluid percussion injury model in the mild-moderate injury range. Since heme is released ~24-48 hours post-injury and is known to be cytotoxic we observed there may be a critical window for treatment to clear heme before it is spontaneously released and to increase the buffering capacity of the tissue. We targeted heme clearance by using drugs known to increased expression of Nrf2, an upstream transcriptional regulator of the canonical heme processing protein heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), and tracking expression of HO-1, the iron sequestration/storage proteins Lipocalin 2 (LCN2) and Ferritin (FTL), as well as the activity of matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9 (MMP2, MMP9). We examined both tissue known to be frankly hemorrhagic (the neocortex) as well as tissue lacking any identifiable bleed (the hippocampus). We demonstrated that using the HO-1 inducers Hemin and Sulforaphane in a single dose paradigm given 1 hour post-injury heme clearance was accelerated in the neocortex with the majority of heme pigment processed by 24 hours post-injury. Further there was significant attenuation of protein expression in HO-1 and ferritin as well as the enzyme activity of MMP2 and MMP9 in both the neocortex and the hippocampus. Behavioral attenuation was also seen in both rotarod and Morris water maze tests. While we intended to target hemorrhagic processing after injury, and indeed demonstrated improved clearance of heme from post-injury hemorrhagic regions of the brain, in both tissues studied we observed remarkably similar responses to the drugs utilized in protein expression, enzyme activity, and behavioral improvement which may suggest a globally improved pathologic state or that there are unidentified pathologic micro-hemorrhages or leaky vessels which extend further into the brain parenchyma than currently identified.

Endothelial inflammation is a pivotal early event in the development of atherosclerosis. Long term exposure to cardiovascular risk factors will ultimately exhaust those protective anti-inflammatory factors such as the heme oxygenase (HO) system. The HO system plays a critical role in cellular and tissue self-defense against oxidative stress and inflammation. Caveolae are membrane domains and are particularly abundant in endothelial cells, where they are believed to play a major role in the regulation of endothelial vesicular trafficking as well as the uptake of lipids and related lipophilic compounds, possibly including bioactive food components such as flavonoids. Research in this dissertation addresses the role of HO-1 and caveolae on dietary flavonoid epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) mediated protection against pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and linoleic acid-induced activation of endothelial cells. The data support the hypothesis that EGCG protects against TNF-α-induced monocyte recruitment and adhesion partially through the induction of HO-1 and bilirubin. The observed anti-inflammatory effects of EGCG are mimicked by the HO-1 inducer cobalt protoporphyrin (CoPP) and abolished by HO-1 gene silencing. Nrf2 is the major transcription factor of phase II antioxidant enzymes including HO-1. Results clearly show that EGCG-induced HO-1 expression and subsequent bilirubin productions are dependent on functional Nrf2. EGCG also can down-regulate the base-line level of caveolin-1. Furthermore, silencing of the caveolin-1 gene can markedly down-regulate linoleic acid-induced COX-2 and MCP-1, indicating that caveolae may be a critical platform regulating inflammatory signaling pathways. Similar to EGCG treatment, silencing of caveolin-1 can also result in the activation of Nrf2, up-regulation of HO-1 and bilirubin. This may be one of the mechanisms to explain the protection effect of caveolin-1 gene silencing against endothelial inflammation. Moreover, EGCG rapidly accumulates in caveolae, which is associated with caveolin-1 displacement from the plasma membrane towards the cytosol. Caveolin-1 gene silencing can significantly reduce the uptake of EGCG in endothelial cells within 30 min. These data suggest that caveolae may play a role in the uptake and transport of EGCG in endothelial cells. These studies provide a novel target through which EGCG functions to protect against inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis.

No description available.