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Diabetes 55:3121-3126, 2006
DOI: 10.2337/db06-0188
© 2006 by the American Diabetes Association
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Saturated, but Not Unsaturated, Fatty Acids Induce Apoptosis of Human Coronary Artery Endothelial Cells via Nuclear Factor-{kappa}B Activation

Katrin Staiger1, Harald Staiger1, Cora Weigert1, Carina Haas1, Hans-Ulrich Häring1, and Monika Kellerer1,2

1 Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Pathobiochemistry, Department of Internal Medicine, Eberhard-Karls University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
2 Clinic of Diabetology, Endocrinology, Intensive Care Medicine, Vascular Medicine, and Cardiology, Center for Internal Medicine I, Marienhospital Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Monika Kellerer, Internal Medicine IV, Medical Clinic, University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Str. 10, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany. E-mail: monikakellerer{at}vinzenz.de

Abbreviations: HCAEC, human coronary artery endothelial cell; HUVEC, human umbilical vein endothelial cell; IKK, inhibitor of {kappa}B kinase; IL, interleukin; NEFA, nonesterified fatty acid; NF{kappa}B, nuclear factor {kappa}B; TNF, tumor necrosis factor


   ABSTRACT
TOP
 ABSTRACT
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
High nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations, as observed in the metabolic syndrome, trigger apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Since endothelial apoptosis may contribute to atherothrombosis, we studied the apoptotic susceptibility of human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) toward selected NEFAs and the underlying mechanisms. HCAECs were treated with single or combined NEFAs. Apoptosis was quantified by flow cytometry, nuclear factor {kappa}B (NF{kappa}B) activation by electrophoretic mobility shift assay, and secreted cytokines by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Treatment of HCAECs with saturated NEFAs (palmitate and stearate) increased apoptosis up to fivefold (P < 0.05; n = 4). Unsaturated NEFAs (palmitoleate, oleate, and linoleate) did not promote apoptosis but prevented stearate-induced apoptosis (P < 0.05; n = 4). Saturated NEFA-induced apoptosis neither depended on ceramide formation nor on oxidative NEFA catabolism. However, NEFA activation via acyl-CoA formation was essential. Stearate activated NF{kappa}B and linoleate impaired stearate-induced NF{kappa}B activation. Pharmacological inhibition of NF{kappa}B and inhibitor of {kappa}B kinase (IKK) also blocked stearate-induced apoptosis. Finally, the saturated NEFA effect on NF{kappa}B was not attributable to NEFA-induced cytokine production. In conclusion, NEFAs display differential effects on HCAEC survival; saturated NEFAs (palmitate and stearate) are proapoptotic, and unsaturated NEFAs (palmitoleate, oleate, and linoleate) are antilipoapoptotic. Mechanistically, promotion of HCAEC apoptosis by saturated NEFA requires acyl-CoA formation, IKK, and NF{kappa}B activation.

Elevated plasma concentrations of nonesterified fatty acids (NEFAs) are a hallmark of visceral obesity and are frequently observed in patients suffering from the metabolic syndrome (1). In these patients who are at an increased risk to develop diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, and coronary heart disease, the abnormally high NEFA levels derive from excessive dietary fat intake and/or increased adipose tissue lipolysis. From animal and in vitro data, there is ample evidence that chronically elevated NEFA levels exert detrimental effects on muscular and hepatic insulin sensitivity and on pancreatic insulin secretion (summarized as lipotoxicity) (rev. in 2). Moreover, high NEFA levels are thought to contribute to atherogenesis via promotion of hepatic VLDL synthesis (1,3). In addition to these indirect proatherogenic properties, multiple direct effects of NEFA on cell types involved in atherogenesis are described: in endothelial cells, NEFAs induce the expression of cell adhesion molecules and inflammatory cytokines; in macrophages, NEFAs increase cholesterol uptake and reduce cholesterol efflux; and in arterial smooth muscle cells, NEFAs increase proliferation and migration (4). Interestingly, NEFAs also reveal proapoptotic effects in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) (5,6). Since increasing evidence, mainly from histological examinations, suggests endothelial cell apoptosis to play an important role in atherogenesis, plaque erosion, and acute coronary syndromes (7,8), we studied the susceptibility of endothelial and smooth muscle cells from human coronary arteries toward NEFA-induced apoptosis (lipoapoptosis). As we recently reported, the saturated NEFAs palmitate and stearate, at high physiological concentrations, provoke substantial apoptotic events in human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) and a mixed form of apoptosis and necrosis in human coronary artery smooth muscle cells (9). To further characterize these findings, we investigated in this study the role of selected saturated versus unsaturated NEFAs in HCAEC lipoapoptosis and the underlying molecular mechanisms.


   RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
Cell culture.
HCAECs were purchased from Clonetics/BioWhittaker (Verviers, Belgium) and cultured in the commercially available endothelial cell growth medium EGM-2-MV (EBM-2 supplemented with EGM-2-MV SingleQuots; Clonetics/BioWhittaker). This medium contained 5% (vol/vol) FCS. Cells were kept in this medium during all experiments and were not serum starved. Only cells from passages 2 and 3 were used for experiments. Cells were obtained from healthy donors (aged 16–56 years) who had given their informed consent. In most experiments, cells were incubated with NEFA. NEFAs (Sigma-Aldrich, Taufkirchen, Germany) were bound to fatty acid–free BSA, as previously described (10). In brief, NEFAs (200 mmol/l in ethanol except for stearate, which was dissolved to 100 mmol/l) were diluted 1:25 into Krebs-Ringer HEPES buffer containing 20% (wt/vol) BSA. This mixture was gently agitated at 37°C under nitrogen overnight. Control medium containing ethanol and BSA was prepared analogously. These stock solutions were stored in aliquots under nitrogen at –20°C. At the NEFA concentration used, BSA reached a concentration of 2.5 or 5% (wt/vol) in the medium. The SN50 inhibitor peptide and hypoestoxide were obtained from Calbiochem (Schwalbach, Germany), trichodion from Alexis (Grünberg, Germany), and human tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-{alpha} from R&D Systems (Wiesbaden, Germany). Triacsin C, cycloserine, fumonisin B1, etomoxir, cycloheximide, actinomycin D, and the neutralizing anti–TNF-{alpha} antibody were obtained from Sigma-Aldrich.

Cell cycle analysis.
Confluent cells were treated as indicated. Detached cells were harvested from the supernatant by centrifugation and added to the adherent cells harvested by trypsinization. Cells were washed with PBS, fixed in 70% ice-cold ethanol, centrifuged, and washed again with PBS. After staining with propidium iodide (50 µg/ml) diluted in PBS containing ribonuclease A (100 µg/ml), cells were subjected to flow cytometric analysis of DNA content using a Becton Dickinson FACScalibur cytometer. Percentages of cells in the different cell cycle phases were calculated by CellQuest software (Becton Dickinson, Heidelberg, Germany).

Electrophoretic mobility shift assay.
Nuclear proteins were prepared as described previously (11). Synthetic oligonucleotides containing a high-affinity binding site for nuclear factor {kappa}B (NF{kappa}B), 5'-GTTAGTTGAGGGGACTTTCCCAGGC-3', were end-labeled with [{alpha}-32P]dATP (3,000 Ci/mmol) and Klenow enzyme and incubated with up to 10 µg nuclear protein in 20 µl of 22 mmol/l HEPES-KOH, pH 7.9, 70 mmol/l KCl, 2.2 mmol/l dithiothreitol, and 10% glycerol on ice for 20 min. Polydeoxyinosinic-deoxycytidylic acid (0.05 mg/ml) was added as unspecific competitor. The samples were run on a 5% nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel in a buffer containing 25 mmol/l Tris-HCl, pH 8.0, 190 mmol/l glycine, and 1 mmol/l EDTA. Gels were dried and analyzed by autoradiography.

Cytokine quantification.
Intracellular and secreted proteins (TNF-{alpha} and interleukin [IL]-1ß) were quantified with Quantikine enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays from R&D Systems. To measure cytokines in cell lysates, cell monolayers were washed with PBS and scraped off in PBS supplemented with 1 mmol/l EDTA, 1 mmol/l phenylmethylsulfonylfluoride, 10 µg/ml aprotinin, 0.5 µg/ml leupeptin, and 0.7 µg/ml pepstatin. After cell lysis by sonication, lysates were cleared by centrifugation. Measurements were performed in duplicate. For standardization, cellular protein of the cell lysates was determined with the Bradford method. Cytokines in cell culture supernatants were measured after centrifugation.

Statistics.
Data were analyzed by ANOVA with Bonferroni’s post hoc test. A P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. For these tests, the statistical software package SigmaStat for Windows 1.0 (Jandel, San Rafael, CA) was used.


   RESULTS
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
 RESULTS
DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
Different effects of saturated versus unsaturated NEFAs on HCAECs.
HCAECs were treated for 24 h with different saturated and unsaturated NEFAs (1 mmol/l each), and apoptosis was measured by flow cytometric cell cycle analysis (quantification of cells with subG1 DNA content). The saturated NEFAs stearate (C18:0) and, to a lesser extent, palmitate (C16:0) significantly induced apoptosis in HCAECs (Fig. 1A). The apoptotic mechanism was recently confirmed by demonstration of caspase-3 activation after palmitate and stearate treatment (9). We were not able to detect saturated NEFA-induced cytochrome c release, which is seen in most, but not all, forms of apoptosis (data not shown). Compared with these saturated NEFAs, the carrier BSA (2.5 and 5%, data not shown) and the monounsaturated NEFA palmitoleate (C16:1 {omega}7) and oleate (C18:1 {omega}9) and the polyunsaturated NEFA linoleate (C18:2 {omega}6) had no proapoptotic effect (Fig. 1A). Moreover, all unsaturated NEFAs tested significantly prevented stearate-induced apoptosis (Fig. 1B). In palmitate-induced apoptosis, unsaturated NEFAs also tended to be protective. Due to the weak proapoptotic effect of palmitate, protection by unsaturated NEFAs, however, did not reach the level of significance (Fig. 1B). Thus, saturated and unsaturated NEFAs display differential effects on HCAEC survival; saturated NEFAs trigger apoptosis, whereas unsaturated NEFAs prevent this kind of lipoapoptosis.


Figure 1
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  		FIG. 1. A: Effects of individual NEFAs on HCAEC apoptosis. HCAECs were left untreated ({square}) or were treated with 1 mmol/l NEFA for 24 h ({blacksquare}, saturated NEFAs; blk12, unsaturated NEFAs). Apoptosis was determined as described in RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS. Data are given as means ± SE. *Significantly different from control (P < 0.05; n = 4). B: Effects of unsaturated NEFAs on stearate- and palmitate-induced HCAEC lipoapoptosis. HCAECs were treated with 1 mmol/l palmitate (blk12) or stearate ({blacksquare}) for 24 h. Unsaturated NEFAs (1 mmol/l) were added 30 min before and during the 24-h treatment with saturated NEFAs. Apoptosis was determined as described in RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS. Data are given as means ± SE. *Significantly different from cells treated with stearate alone (P < 0.05; n = 4).

 
Acyl-CoA formation, but not mitochondrial ß-oxidation, is required for lipoapoptosis.
As palmitate induces apoptosis in other cell systems via ceramide biosynthesis (rev. in 12), we investigated the role of ceramide formation in lipoapoptosis of HCAECs. To this end, we treated HCAECs with specific inhibitors of several steps of the ceramide de novo synthesis pathway. Triacsin C was recently shown to efficiently inhibit the long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase activity (palmitoyl-CoA formation) of HCAECs at 5–10 µmol/l (13). In our experimental setting, triacsin C (10 µmol/l) revealed cytotoxic effects in the absence of NEFA (Fig. 2). This might be due to the reduction of basal intracellular acyl-CoA concentrations below a critical level necessary for the maintainance of cellular viability. Apart from this, triacsin C significantly prevented palmitate- and stearate-induced apoptosis (Fig. 2). In contrast, inhibitors of enzymes more downstream in the ceramide biosynthesis pathway, i.e., cycloserine (1 mmol/l) and fumonisin B1 (50 µmol/l), had no protective effect (Fig. 2). In addition, treatment of cells with exogenous C2-ceramide (10 µmol/l) did not induce apoptosis in HCAECs (data not shown). Therefore, NEFA activation via fatty acyl-CoA formation, the first step of NEFA metabolism, but not ceramide de novo synthesis, seems to be required for lipoapoptosis in HCAECs. Treating HCAECs with etomoxir (100 µmol/l), an inhibitor of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I that catalyzes the rate-limiting step of the ß-oxidation, had no significant effect on lipoapoptosis (Fig. 2). This suggests that ß-oxidation is not involved in the mechanism used by saturated NEFAs to induce lipoapoptosis in these cells.


Figure 2
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  		FIG. 2. Acyl-CoA formation is required for HCAEC lipoapoptosis. HCAECs were left untreated ({square}) or were treated with 1 mmol/l palmitate (blk12) or 1 mmol/l stearate ({blacksquare}) for 24 h. Triacsin C (10 µmol/l), cycloserine (cycloSer; 1 mmol/l), fumonisin B1 (fumo B1; 50 µmol/l), or etomoxir (100 µmol/l) were added 30 min before and during NEFA treatment. Apoptosis was determined as described in RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS. Data are given as means ± SE. *Significantly different from the corresponding inhibitor-free NEFA-treated controls (P < 0.01; n = 5).

 
Saturated NEFAs induce lipoapoptosis via inhibitor of {kappa}B kinase and NF{kappa}B.
As treatment of HCAECs with the inhibitor of gene transcription actinomycin D (10 µg/ml) or the inhibitor of protein biosynthesis cycloheximide (20 µg/ml) significantly prevented stearate-induced apoptosis (Fig. 3), de novo synthesis of protein(s) seems to be required for HCAEC lipoapoptosis. Therefore, we investigated potential candidate transcription factors for apoptotic gene expression. One transcription factor known to be activated by NEFA is NF{kappa}B (14–16). Figure 4 shows that the proapoptotic saturated NEFA stearate promotes activation of NF{kappa}B. In agreement with its minor proapoptotic properties, the saturated NEFA palmitate had only a weak effect on NF{kappa}B activity (data not shown). Linoleate, which was chosen as a representative unsaturated NEFA shown above to lack proapoptotic effects in HCAECs, is not able to induce NF{kappa}B activation (Fig. 4). Thus, activation of NF{kappa}B appears to be restricted to the proapoptotic saturated NEFA. Consistent with its antilipoapoptotic effect, linoleate reduced stearate-induced NF{kappa}B activation to the level of BSA (Fig. 5B). Furthermore, treatment of HCAECs with the NF{kappa}B inhibitors SN50 (18 µmol/l) and trichodion (50 µmol/l) protected HCAECs from lipoapoptosis (Fig. 5A) and reduced stearate-induced NF{kappa}B activation even below the level of BSA (Fig. 5B). Inhibitor of {kappa}B kinase (IKK) is the best characterized upstream kinase regulating NF{kappa}B activity via phosphorylation of inhibitor of {kappa}B. Treatment of HCAECs with hypoestoxide (100 µmol/l), a selective and direct inhibitor of IKK, prevented lipoapoptosis (Fig. 6). Taken together, these data suggest that palmitate and stearate exert their lipoapoptotic effects via activation of IKK and NF{kappa}B.


Figure 3
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  		FIG. 3. De novo protein synthesis is required for stearate-induced apoptosis. HCAECs were left untreated ({square}) or were treated with 1 mmol/l stearate ({blacksquare}) for 24 h. Cycloheximide (CHX; 20 µg/ml) or actinomycin D (Act D; 10 µg/ml) were added 30 min before and during stearate treatment. Apoptosis was determined as described in RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS. Data are given as means ± SE. *Significantly different from cells treated with stearate alone (P < 0.05; n = 5).

 

Figure 4
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  		FIG. 4. Different effects of stearate and linoleate on NF{kappa}B activation in HCAECs. HCAECs were incubated with 5% BSA for control or with 1 mmol/l stearate (S) or 1 mmol/l linoleate (L) for the indicated time intervals. As control for NF{kappa}B activation, cells were treated for 1 h with TNF-{alpha} (100 ng/ml). Electrophoretic mobility shift assay was performed as described in RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS. Arrows indicate protein complexes formed with NF{kappa}B binding site–containing oligonucleotides.

 

Figure 5
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  		FIG. 5. Saturated NEFAs induce HCAEC apoptosis via activation of NF{kappa}B. A: HCAECs were left untreated ({square}) or were treated with 1 mmol/l palmitate (blk12) or 1 mmol/l stearate ({blacksquare}) for 24 h. The NF{kappa}B inhibitors SN50 (18 µmol/l) or trichodion (50 µmol/l) were added 30 min before and during NEFA treatment. Apoptosis was determined as described in RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS. Data are given as means ± SE. *Significantly different from the corresponding inhibitor-free NEFA-treated controls (P < 0.05; n = 8). B: HCAECs were incubated with 2.5 and 5% BSA for control or 0.5 and 1 mmol/l stearate for 4 h. The NF{kappa}B inhibitors SN50 (SN; 18 µmol/l) and trichodion (Trich; 50 µmol/l) or the unsaturated NEFA linoleate (L; 1 mmol/l) were added 30 min before and during stearate (S; 1 mmol/l) treatment. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay was performed as described in RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS. Black triangles mark increasing concentrations. Arrows indicate protein complexes formed with NF{kappa}B binding site–containing oligonucleotides.

 

Figure 6
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  		FIG. 6. I{kappa}B kinase activity is required for saturated NEFA-induced HCAEC apoptosis. HCAECs were left untreated ({square}) or were treated with 1 mmol/l palmitate (blk12) or 1 mmol/l stearate ({blacksquare}) for 24 h. Hypoestoxide (100 µmol/l) was added 30 min before and during NEFA treatment. Apoptosis was determined as described in RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS. Data are given as means ± SE. *Significantly different from cells treated with palmitate or stearate alone (P < 0.05; n = 5).

 
Saturated NEFAs do not activate NF{kappa}B via induction of TNF-{alpha} or IL-1ß.
To investigate whether saturated NEFAs activate NF{kappa}B via induction of NF{kappa}B-activating cytokines, such as TNF-{alpha} or IL-1ß, we determined TNF-{alpha} and IL-1ß production after treament of HCAECs with palmitate or stearate (1 mmol/l each). Under these conditions, HCAECs did not produce measurable amounts of intracellular or secreted IL-1ß protein (data not shown). TNF-{alpha} was detected in minor amounts in the supernatant (2.5% BSA: 12.5 ± 1.8 pg/ml; 5% BSA: 13.5 ± 2.7 pg/ml; n = 3). However, neither palmitate nor stearate was able to significantly increase the amount of secreted TNF-{alpha} protein over the respective BSA control (1 mmol/l palmitate: 12.4 ± 2.2 pg/ml; 1 mmol/l stearate: 23.1 ± 10.5 pg/ml; n = 3). In addition, the detected TNF-{alpha} concentrations (in the picograms per milliliter range) are considered too low to significantly induce apoptosis in HCAECs, as exogenously applied TNF-{alpha} concentrations up to 500 ng/ml were not effective in triggering substantial apoptosis (data not shown). Furthermore, a neutralizing anti–TNF-{alpha} antibody was not able to significantly reduce palmitate- or stearate-induced apoptosis in HCAECs (data not shown). Taken together, these data suggest that saturated NEFAs do not activate NF{kappa}B via stimulation of TNF-{alpha} or IL-1ß synthesis/secretion.


   DISCUSSION
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
 
Consistent with our recent report (9), the common plasma saturated NEFAs palmitate and stearate, at 1 mmol/l, clearly reveal proapoptotic effects on HCAECs. Taking into account that 1) the total plasma NEFA concentration in the fasting state can reach 1.6 mmol/l, as detected in some healthy participants of the TÜF (Tübingen family study for type 2 diabetes) (A. Fritsche, N. Stefan, unpublished data) and that 2) palmitate and stearate comprise ~28 and 12%, respectively, of total NEFA, as measured in 54 TÜF participants (17), the concentrations used here are, at least in the case of palmitate, not too far from the physiological situation. As for stearate, it can be estimated that 1 mmol/l is about fivefold higher than its plasma concentration in healthy subjects. Even though respective data are lacking, it is conceivable that this stearate concentration can be reached in pathological situations associated with markedly increased lipolytic rates, such as morbid obesity and type 2 diabetes. The proapoptotic effects of saturated NEFAs on HCAECs is in agreement with earlier studies in HUVECs (5,6). In these cells, however, Artwohl et al. (5) additionally demonstrated that unsaturated NEFAs, at a concentration of 300 µmol/l, act proapoptotically as well. Moreover, these authors point out that the proapoptotic properties of unsaturated NEFAs are a function of the degree of desaturation with linoleate being comparably effective as stearate. In HCAECs, we were not able to detect any proapoptotic effects of unsaturated NEFAs (linoleate included), even at a concentration of 1 mmol/l. Moreover, we provide data demonstrating potent antilipoapoptotic effects of these NEFA species. As to these discrepancies, we speculate that endothelial cells from different sources, i.e., vein versus artery and umbilical versus coronary vessels, diverge in their apoptotic susceptibility toward unsaturated NEFAs. With regard to the importance of endothelial cell apoptosis in atherogenesis, plaque erosion, and acute coronary syndromes (7,8), our findings, which clearly demonstrate antilipoapoptotic properties of palmitoleate, oleate, and linoleate in HCAECs, could provide a mechanistic explanation for the previously observed cardioprotective effects of these non-{omega}3 unsaturated NEFAs (18–20).

Furthermore, we provide evidence that saturated NEFAs, after being activated to fatty acyl-CoA, induce HCAEC apoptosis via activation of IKK and NF{kappa}B. We show that this signaling pathway does neither involve conversion of NEFA to ceramide nor NEFA degradation via ß-oxidation. In addition, we tend to exclude nitric oxide as a mediator of saturated NEFA-induced apoptosis since recent attempts to inhibit lipoapoptosis by blocking nitric oxide synthase isoforms using pharmacological inhibitors, i.e., NG-monomethyl-L-arginine, NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, and NG-(1-iminoethyl)-L-lysine, were not successful (data not shown). Further studies are, however, needed to substantiate this finding. It was recently demonstrated that saturated NEFAs are able to activate NF{kappa}B in several cell systems, such as murine and human skeletal muscle cells (14,21), bovine eye pericytes (22), bovine aortic endothelial cells (16), and HUVECs (23). Since NF{kappa}B activation by various physiological stimuli, e.g., IL-18 (24), high glucose (25), hypoxia (26), and TNF-{alpha} (27), is reported to trigger apoptosis in endothelial cells, the mechanism of lipoapoptosis described in this study appears plausible. Consistent with the antiapoptotic effect of unsaturated NEFAs observed in this study, unsaturated NEFAs are reported to inhibit NF{kappa}B activation in endothelial cells (28) and macrophages (29) and to prevent saturated NEFA-induced apoptosis in rat insulinoma and human islet cells (30). In addition, our findings point to NEFA-stimulated and NF{kappa}B-directed induction of proapoptotic genes. Preliminary data using the Apoptosis Oligo GEArray from SuperArray Bioscience support this suggestion: among 112 spotted genes, 7 were found regulated by stearate in HCAECs. Increased were, for example, the proapoptotic genes Bcl-2–like protein 13, lymphotoxin-ß receptor, TWEAK (TNF-related weak inducer of apoptosis) receptor, and TRAF1 (TNF receptor–associated factor 1). Studies further evaluating the role of these genes in HCAEC lipoapoptosis are currently on the way. As to the molecular mechanisms upstream of IKK and NF{kappa}B that constitute the divergent behavior of saturated and unsaturated NEFA in HCAECs, we can at the moment only speculate. However, the very recently reported findings on the differential potential of these NEFA classes to provoke an endoplasmic reticulum stress response (31) or to stimulate formation of diacylglycerol (32,33), a well-known activator of classical and novel protein kinase C isoforms, represent good starting points for further investigations. Finally, we show that the effect of saturated NEFAs is not mediated by NF{kappa}B-dependent induction of proapoptotic cytokines, such as TNF-{alpha} and IL-1ß; 1) IL-1ß was not expressed by HCAECs, as was previously demonstrated (17,34), and 2) we detected only low amounts of secreted TNF-{alpha} protein, which were found to be ineffective in provoking apoptosis and, in addition, were not regulated by saturated NEFAs. Very recently, it was reported that saturated, but not unsaturated, NEFAs induce insulin receptor and insulin receptor substrate 1 expression in human aortic endothelial cells and confer insulin sensitivity to these cells (35). This finding could also imply enhanced survival factor signaling in these cells in response to saturated NEFAs. Whether such a protective mechanism is absent or counterregulated in HCAECs cannot be answered at the moment and awaits further studies.

In conclusion, we show here that saturated and unsaturated NEFAs display differential effects on HCAEC survival; saturated NEFAs, such as palmitate and stearate, are proapoptotic, whereas unsaturated NEFAs, such as palmitoleate, oleate, and linoleate, are antilipoapoptotic. Mechanistically, promotion of HCAEC apoptosis by saturated NEFAs requires fatty acyl-CoA formation and subsequent NF{kappa}B activation. As endothelial cell apoptosis is supposed to play an important role in plaque erosion and acute coronary syndromes, our findings could provide a theoretical explanation for the increased incidence of such life-threatening events in medical disorders associated with chronically elevated plasma NEFA concentrations.


   ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 
This study was supported in part by a grant from the German Research Foundation (KFO 114/1-1) and the European Community’s FP6 EUGENE 2 (LSHM-CT-2004-512013).


   FOOTNOTES
 
K.S. and H.S. contributed equally to this work.

The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

Received for publication February 9, 2006 and accepted in revised form August 15, 2006


   REFERENCES
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 

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