Inhibition of EL has been shown to increase HDL concentration in preclinical animal models and was targeted as a potential treatment of atherosclerosis.
To investigate the effects of inflammatory factor interleukin (IL)‑6 on the expression of endothelial lipase (EL) and its potential signaling pathways in atherosclerosis, a primary culture of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) was established and treated as follows: i) Control group without any treatment; ii) recombinant human (rh)IL‑6 treatment (10 ng/ml) for 0, 4, 8, 12 and 24 h; iii) p38 mitogen‑activated protein kinases (MAPKs) inhibitor (SB203580, 10 µmol/l) pretreatment for 1 h prior to rhIL‑6 (10 ng/ml) treatment; iv) nuclear factor (NF)‑κB activation inhibitor (pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate, 10 mmol/l) pretreatment for 1 h prior to rhIL‑6 (10 ng/ml) treatment.
The purpose of our study was to investigate the effects of endothelial lipase gene polymorphism and inflammation markers (CRP, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α) in the atherosclerosis.
rEL is expressed in multiple tissues and may have many physiological and pathophysiological functions, such as in the regulation of cholesterol metabolism and atherosclerosis.
Furthermore, in atherosclerosis prone LDLR(-/-)ApoB(100/100) mice, systemic adenoviral gene transfer with human VEGF-A decreased EL mRNA in peripheral tissues and increased plasma HDL cholesterol.
More mechanistic insights into the diverse biological properties of these enzymes are therefore required to firmly establish EL and HL as targets for the treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
The available data regarding the impact of EL expression and activity on HDL metabolism, reverse cholesterol transport, and atherosclerosis are reviewed.
Unlike LPL and HL, EL is located in the vascular endothelial cells and its expression is highly regulated by cytokines and physical forces, suggesting that it may play a role in the development of atherosclerosis.