Background and objectives:
Growing bodies of evidence demonstrate that adipocyte fatty acid binding protein (A-FABP) mediates the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis through its direct impacts on macrophages. Loss-of-function study was conducted by utilizing peritoneal macrophages derived from A-FABP knockout (KO) mice, to investigate the role of A-FABP in autophagy and macrophage foam cell formation.
Key findings:
1. No morphological changes between the peritoneal macrophages derived from A-FABP knockout (KO) or their wild-type (WT) littermates.
2. Foam cell formation was successfully induced by the treatment of acetylated low-density lipoproteins (LDL) in peritoneal macrophages derived from A-FABP WT and KO mice.
3. LDL treatment induces autophagy in peritoneal macrophages from both A-FABP WT and KO mice.
4. The extent of LDL-induced autophagy is reduced in peritoneal macrophages of WT mice and is accompanied by increased lipid droplet accumulation when compared with A-FABP KO mice.
Conclusions:
A-FABP is a suppressor of autophagy and contributes to the attenuation of cholesterol efflux, subsequently resulting in enhancement of lipid droplets accumulation in peritoneal macrophages. A-FABP mediates the formation of macrophage foam cell via the suppression of autophagy. The results suggest that A-FABP is a potential therapeutic target to suspend the progression of atherosclerosis and remit the atherosclerotic lesion. / published_or_final_version / Medicine / Master / Master of Medical Sciences
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:HKU/oai:hub.hku.hk:10722/206502 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Wong, Tak-sui, 黃德緒 |
| Publisher | The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) |
| Source Sets | Hong Kong University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | PG_Thesis |
| Rights | The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights) and the right to use in future works., Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License |
| Relation | HKU Theses Online (HKUTO) |
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