Neutrophil extracellular traps license macrophages for cytokine production in atherosclerosis

Secretion of the cytokine interleukin-1β (IL-1β) by macrophages, a major driver of pathogenesis in atherosclerosis, requires two steps: Priming signals promote transcription of immature IL-1β, and then endogenous "danger" signals activate innate immune signaling complexes called inflammasomes to process IL-1β for secretion. Although cholesterol crystals are known to act as danger signals in atherosclerosis, what primes IL-1β transcription remains elusive. Using a murine model of atherosclerosis, we found that cholesterol crystals acted both as priming and danger signals for IL-1β production. Cholesterol crystals triggered neutrophils to release neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). NETs primed macrophages for…

• W
  Wellcome
• CR
  Cancer Research UK
• MR
  Medical Research Council

  Award: MC_UP_1202/13