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. 2006 Sep;26(9):2090-5.
doi: 10.1161/01.ATV.0000232502.88144.6f. Epub 2006 Jun 15.

IL-20 is expressed in atherosclerosis plaques and promotes atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice

Wei-Yu Chen  1 , Bor-Chih Cheng, Meei-Jyh Jiang, Mei-Yi Hsieh, Ming-Shi Chang
Affiliations

IL-20 is expressed in atherosclerosis plaques and promotes atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice

Wei-Yu Chen et al. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2006 Sep.

Abstract

Objective: Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease with immune cell infiltration. Various cytokines and chemokines have been characterized as pro- or antiatherogenic factors. Interleukin-20 (IL-20) belongs to the IL-10 family and is a proinflammatory cytokine involved in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. However, the association between IL-20 and atherosclerosis is undetermined. Therefore, we sought to investigate whether IL-20 is associated with atherosclerosis.

Methods and results: We examined the expression of IL-20 and its receptor complex IL-20R1/IL-20R2 in atherosclerotic lesions of humans and mice using immunohistochemical staining. IL-20 was expressed in macrophage-rich areas. Both IL-20 and IL-20R1/IL-20R2 were expressed by endothelial cells lining the intimal microvessels, vasa vasorum, but rarely in nonatherosclerotic arteries. We used reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction to analyze gene expression. IL-20 transcripts increased in hypoxic monocytes and monocytes treated with oxidized low-density lipoprotein. The expression of IL-20R1 and IL-20R2 was also upregulated by human umbilical vein endothelial cells in response to hypoxic treatment. Incubating IL-20 with human umbilical vein endothelial cells upregulated CXCL9 and CXCL11 transcripts. Furthermore, in vivo administration of IL-20 expression vector using intramuscular electroporation promoted atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice.

Conclusions: Our data suggest that IL-20 is a proatherogenic cytokine that contributes to the progression of atherosclerosis.

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Comment in

  • IL-20 and atherosclerosis: another brick in the wall.
    Caligiuri G, Kaveri SV, Nicoletti A. Caligiuri G, et al. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2006 Sep;26(9):1929-30. doi: 10.1161/01.ATV.0000237564.81178.bb. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2006. PMID: 16917109 No abstract available.

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