Non-lethal sonodynamic therapy facilitates the M1-to-M2 transition in advanced atherosclerotic plaques via activating the ROS-AMPK-mTORC1-autophagy pathway.

Abstract

Emerging evidence indicates that macrophage functional polarization is critically involved in the development of atherosclerosis (AS). Here, we examined the role of 5-aminolaevulinic acid (ALA)-mediated non-lethal sonodynamic therapy (NL-SDT) in macrophage-subset polarization and atherosclerotic lesion stability and explored the potential underlying mechanisms. Using Western diet-fed apolipoprotein E (apoE)-/- and green fluorescent protein (GFP)-positive bone marrow (BM) chimeric mouse models, we demonstrated that NL-SDT promoted phenotypic switching of both BM-derived and resident macrophages from M1 to M2 and significantly inhibited AS progression. Further mechanistic studies indicated that NL-SDT enhanced macrophage differentiation toward the M2 phenotype by activating the reactive oxygen species (ROS)-5' AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1)-autophagy signaling pathway in murine BM-derived M1 macrophages (BMDM1s). Moreover, NL-SDT drastically reduced lipid droplets, mainly by promoting apoAI-mediated cholesterol efflux in vitro. Specifically, administration of pharmacological inhibitors to the animal model showed a reciprocal effect on NL-SDT-induced macrophage polarization. These findings indicate that NL-SDT engages a virtuous cycle that enhances M1-to-M2 polarization, cholesterol efflux, and anti-inflammatory reactions in advanced plaque in vivo and in BMDM1s in vitro by activating the ROS-AMPK-mTORC1-autophagy pathway. This discovery might help elucidate the mechanism underlying NL-SDT as a potential treatment to prevent atherothrombotic events.

• Authors: Yang Yang, Jiayu Wang, Shuyuan Guo, Shirin Pourteymour, Qiulian Xu, Jie Gong, Zhen Huang, Zhaoqian Shen, Kamal Diabakte, Zhengyu Cao, Guodong Wu, Sukhareva Natalia, Zhen Tian, Hong Jin, Ye Tian
• Journal: Redox biology (Redox Biol) Vol. 32 Pg. 101501 (05 2020) ISSN: 2213-2317 [Electronic] Netherlands
• PMID: 32179242 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Reactive Oxygen Species
• AMP-Activated Protein Kinases

Topics

• AMP-Activated Protein Kinases
• Animals
• Atherosclerosis
• Autophagy
• Mice
• Plaque, Atherosclerotic
• Reactive Oxygen Species