Zhang Miao, Pan Xinyu, He Yuanfang, Sun Kairong, Wang Zhiyu, Tian Weiyu, Qiu Haonan, Wang Yiqi, Wen Chengping, Chen Juan
Institute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine, College of Basic Medical Science, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310000, China.
Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Rheumatology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310000, China.
Biomolecules. 2025 Jul 25;15(8):1078. doi: 10.3390/biom15081078.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by autoimmune dysregulation, elevated autoantibody production, and persistent inflammation, predisposing patients to atherosclerosis (AS). Atherogenesis is dependent on lipid homeostasis and inflammatory processes, with the formation of lipid-laden, macrophage-derived foam cells (MDFC) essential for atherosclerotic lesion progression. Elevated cholesterol levels within lipid rafts trigger heightened pro-inflammatory responses in macrophages via Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9). Artesunate (ART), an artemisinin derivative sourced from , exhibits therapeutic potential in modulating inflammation and autoimmune conditions. Nonetheless, its impact and mechanisms in SLE-associated AS (SLE-AS) remain largely unexplored. Our investigation demonstrated that ART could effectively ameliorate lupus-like symptoms and atherosclerotic plaque development in SLE-AS mice. Moreover, ART enhanced cholesterol efflux from MDFC by upregulating ABCA1, ABCG1, and SR-B1 both in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, ART reduced cholesterol accumulation in bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs), thereby diminishing TLR9 recruitment to lipid rafts. ART also suppressed TLR9 expression and its downstream effectors in the kidney and aorta of SLE-AS mice, attenuating the TLR9-mediated inflammatory cascade in CPG2395 (ODN2395)-stimulated macrophages. Through bioinformatics analysis and experimental validation, PPARγ was identified as a pivotal downstream mediator of ART in macrophages. Depleting PPARγ levels reduced the expression of ABCA1, ABCG1, and SR-B1 in macrophages, consequently impeding cholesterol efflux. In conclusion, these findings suggest that ART ameliorates SLE-AS by restoring cholesterol homeostasis through the PPARγ-ABCA1/ABCG1/SR-B1 pathway and suppressing lipid raft-driven TLR9/MyD88 inflammation.
系统性红斑狼疮(SLE)的特征是自身免疫失调、自身抗体产生增加和持续性炎症,使患者易患动脉粥样硬化(AS)。动脉粥样硬化的发生依赖于脂质稳态和炎症过程,富含脂质的巨噬细胞源性泡沫细胞(MDFC)的形成对动脉粥样硬化病变进展至关重要。脂筏内胆固醇水平升高通过Toll样受体9(TLR9)触发巨噬细胞中促炎反应增强。青蒿琥酯(ART)是一种源自青蒿素的衍生物,在调节炎症和自身免疫性疾病方面具有治疗潜力。然而,其在SLE相关AS(SLE-AS)中的作用和机制仍 largely unexplored。我们的研究表明,ART可以有效改善SLE-AS小鼠的狼疮样症状和动脉粥样硬化斑块发展。此外,ART在体内和体外均通过上调ABCA1、ABCG1和SR-B1增强了MDFC的胆固醇流出。此外,ART减少了骨髓来源巨噬细胞(BMDM)中的胆固醇积累,从而减少了TLR9向脂筏的募集。ART还抑制了SLE-AS小鼠肾脏和主动脉中TLR9的表达及其下游效应器,减弱了CPG2395(ODN2395)刺激的巨噬细胞中TLR9介导的炎症级联反应。通过生物信息学分析和实验验证,PPARγ被确定为ART在巨噬细胞中的关键下游介质。降低PPARγ水平会降低巨噬细胞中ABCA1、ABCG1和SR-B1的表达,从而阻碍胆固醇流出。总之,这些发现表明,ART通过PPARγ-ABCA1/ABCG1/SR-B1途径恢复胆固醇稳态并抑制脂筏驱动的TLR9/MyD88炎症来改善SLE-AS。
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