Volume 19, No 8, Aug 2009
ISSN: 1001-0602
EISSN: 1748-7838 2018
impact factor 17.848*
(Clarivate Analytics, 2019)
Volume 19 Issue 8, August 2009: 1006-1017
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Berberine promotes the development of atherosclerosis and foam cell formation by inducing scavenger receptor A expression in macrophage
Berberine promotes the development of atherosclerosis and foam cell formation by inducing scavenger receptor A expression in macrophage
State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
Correspondence: Kan Liao,(kliao@sibs.ac.cn)
bBerberine is identified to lower the serum cholesterol level in human and hamster through the induction of low density lipoproteins (LDL) receptor in hepatic cells. To evaluate its potential in preventing atherosclerosis, the effect of berberine on atherosclerosis development in apolipoprotein E-deficient (apoE
-/-) mice was investigated. In apoE
-/- mice, berberine induced
in vivo foam cell formation and promoted atherosclerosis development. The foam cell formation induced by berberine was also observed in mouse RAW264.7 cells, as well as in mouse and human primary macrophages. By inducing scavenger receptor A (SR-A) expression in macrophages, berberine increased the uptake of modified LDL (DiO-Ac-LDL). Berberine-induced SR-A expression was also observed in macrophage foam cells
in vivo and in the cells at atherosclerotic lesion. Analysis in RAW264.7 cells indicated that berberine induced SR-A expression by suppressing PTEN expression, which led to sustained Akt activation. Our results suggest that to evaluate the potential of a cholesterol-reducing compound in alleviating atherosclerosis, its effect on the cells involved in atherosclerosis development, such as macrophages, should also be considered. Promotion of foam cell formation could counter-balance the beneficial effect of lowering serum cholesterol.
Cell Research (2009) 19:1006-1017. doi: 10.1038/cr.2009.76; published online 23 June 2009
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