Apolipoprotein E4 impairs macrophage efferocytosis and potentiates apoptosis by accelerating endoplasmic reticulum stress

James G. Cash, David G. Kuhel, Joshua E. Basford, Anja Jaeschke, Tapan K. Chatterjee, Neal L. Weintraub, David Y. Hui

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

74 Scopus citations

Abstract

Apolipoprotein (apo) E4 is a major genetic risk factor for a wide spectrum of inflammatory metabolic diseases, including atherosclerosis, diabetes, and Alzheimer disease. This study compared diet-induced adipose tissue inflammation as well as functional properties of macrophages isolated from human APOE3 and APOE4 mice to identify the mechanism responsible for the association between apoE4 and inflammatory metabolic diseases. The initial study confirmed previous reports that APOE4 gene replacement mice were less sensitive than APOE3 mice to diet-induced body weight gain but exhibited hyperinsulinemia, and their adipose tissues were similarly inflamed as those in APOE3 mice. Peritoneal macrophages isolated from APOE4 mice were defective in efferocytosis compared with APOE3 macrophages. Increased cell death was also observed in APOE4 macrophages when stimulated with LPS or oxidized LDL. Western blot analysis of cell lysates revealed that APOE4 macrophages displayed elevated JNK phosphorylation indicative of cell stress even under basal culturing conditions. Significantly higher cell stress due mainly to potentiation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress signaling was also observed in APOE4 macrophages after LPS and oxidized LDL activation. The defect in efferocytosis and elevated apoptosis sensitivity of APOE4 macrophages was ameliorated by treatment with the ER chaperone tauroursodeoxycholic acid. Taken together, these results showed that apoE4 expression causes macrophage dysfunction and promotes apoptosis via ER stress induction. The reduction of ER stress in macrophages may be a viable option to reduce inflammation and inflammation-related metabolic disorders associated with the apoE4 polymorphism.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)27876-27884
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Biological Chemistry
Volume287
Issue number33
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 10 2012
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Apolipoprotein E4 impairs macrophage efferocytosis and potentiates apoptosis by accelerating endoplasmic reticulum stress'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this