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(Circulation. 2000;102:2569.)
© 2000 American Heart Association, Inc.

Clinical Investigation and Reports

Expression of Platelet-Activating Factor Receptor in Human Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaques

Relevance to Progression of Atherosclerosis

Isabelle Brochériou, MD; Dominique Stengel, PhD; Lillemor Mattsson-Hultén, PhD; Jana Stankova, PhD; Marek Rola-Pleszczynski, PhD; Fabien Koskas, MD, PhD; Olov Wiklund, PhD; Yves Le Charpentier, MD, PhD; Ewa Ninio, PhD

From INSERM U321, Lipoproteins and Atherogenesis (I.B., D.S., E.N.); Laboratoire Central d’Anatomie Pathologique (I.B., Y.L.); and Département de Chirurgie Vasculaire (F.K.), Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France; Wallenberg Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden (L.M.-H., O.W.); and Service d’Immunologie, Département de Pédiatrie, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada (J.S., M.R.-P.). Drs Brochériou, Stengel, and Ninio are now at INSERM U525, Génétique épidemiologique et moléculaire des pathologies cardiovasculaires, Institut Fédératif "Muscle Coeur et Vaisseaux," Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière and UFR Médecine Sud (Université Pierre et Marie Curie), Paris, France.

Correspondence to Ewa Ninio, INSERM U525, Faculté de Médecine Pitié-Salpêtrière, 91, Bd. de l’Hôpital, 75634 Paris, Cedex 13, France. E-mail eninio{at}infobiogen.fr

Background—Human monocyte-derived macrophages synthesize numerous proinflammatory and prothrombotic substances, including lipid mediators, such as platelet-activating factor (PAF), which may play a major role in the onset and perpetuation of atherosclerotic lesions. In addition, both monocytes and macrophages express PAF receptors (PAF-R). The expression of PAF-R is transcriptionally downregulated by oxidized LDL in in vitro primary cultures of monocyte/macrophages. In this study, we evaluated the expression of PAF-R in human carotid plaque tissue, in foam cells isolated from human carotid plaques, and in primary cultures of umbilical smooth muscle cells (SMCs).

Methods and Results—We show that PAF-R was expressed at low levels in foam cells compared with monocyte/macrophages in plaques, as assessed by immunohistochemical staining and in situ hybridization. In addition, low levels of mRNA were also detected by RT-PCR in isolated human carotid foam cells. A prominent finding of our study was the demonstration that contractile SMCs were positive for PAF-R, and its mRNA was extracted from primary cultures of umbilical SMCs.

Conclusions—As macrophages loose their inflammatory phenotype on transformation into foam cells, they may equally loose their capacity of defense against aggression. We postulate that the diminished expression of PAF-R may be deleterious in the context of plaque formation and progression. The observation that arterial SMCs of contractile phenotype express PAF-R opens new avenues concerning the migration of these cells from media to intima and atherosclerotic plaque formation.

Key Words: atherosclerosis • macrophages • muscle, smooth • cells • lipoproteins

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