Tracking Monocyte Recruitment and Macrophage Accumulation in Atherosclerotic Plaque Progression Using a Novel hCD68GFP/ApoE-/- Reporter Mouse-Brief Report.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To create a model of atherosclerosis using green fluorescent protein (GFP)-targeted monocytes/macrophages, allowing analysis of both endogenous GFP+ and adoptively transferred GFP+ myeloid cells in arterial inflammation. APPROACH AND RESULTS: hCD68GFP reporter mice were crossed with ApoE-/- mice. Expression of GFP was localized to macrophages in atherosclerotic plaques and in angiotensin II-induced aortic aneurysms and correlated with galectin 3 and mCD68 expression. Flow cytometry confirmed GFP+ expression in CD11b+/CD64+, CD11c+/MHC-IIHI, and CD11b+/F4/80+ myeloid cells. Adoptive transfer of GFP+ monocytes demonstrated monocyte recruitment to both adventitia and atherosclerotic plaque, throughout the aortic root, within 72 hours. We demonstrated the biological utility of hCD68GFP monocytes by comparing the recruitment of wild-type and CCR2-/- monocytes to sites of inflammation.

CONCLUSIONS:

hCD68GFP/ApoE-/- mice provide a new approach to study macrophage accumulation in atherosclerotic plaque progression and to identify cells recruited from adoptively transferred monocytes.

• Authors: Eileen McNeill, Asif J Iqbal, Daniel Jones, Jyoti Patel, Patricia Coutinho, Lewis Taylor, David R Greaves, Keith M Channon
• Journal: Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology (Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol) Vol. 37 Issue 2 Pg. 258-263 (Feb 2017) ISSN: 1524-4636 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 27908893 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Video-Audio Media, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: © 2016 The Authors.

Chemical References

• Antigens, CD
• Antigens, Differentiation
• Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic
• Apolipoproteins E
• CD11b Antigen
• CD11c Antigen
• CD68 antigen, human
• Galectin 3
• Lgals3 protein, mouse
• Receptors, IgG
• Recombinant Fusion Proteins
• monocyte-macrophage differentiation antigen
• Angiotensin II
• Green Fluorescent Proteins

Topics

• Adoptive Transfer
• Angiotensin II
• Animals
• Antigens, CD (genetics, metabolism)
• Antigens, Differentiation (metabolism)
• Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic (genetics, metabolism)
• Aorta (metabolism, pathology)
• Aortic Aneurysm (chemically induced, genetics, metabolism, pathology)
• Aortic Diseases (genetics, metabolism, pathology)
• Apolipoproteins E (deficiency, genetics)
• Atherosclerosis (genetics, metabolism, pathology)
• CD11b Antigen (metabolism)
• CD11c Antigen (metabolism)
• Cell Tracking (methods)
• Cells, Cultured
• Disease Models, Animal
• Disease Progression
• Galectin 3 (metabolism)
• Genetic Predisposition to Disease
• Green Fluorescent Proteins (genetics, metabolism)
• Macrophages (metabolism, pathology, transplantation)
• Male
• Mice, Inbred C57BL
• Mice, Transgenic
• Monocytes (metabolism, pathology, transplantation)
• Phenotype
• Plaque, Atherosclerotic
• Receptors, IgG (metabolism)
• Recombinant Fusion Proteins (metabolism)
• Signal Transduction