Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Leukocyte recruitment is a major contributor in the development of atherosclerosis and requires a variety of proteins such as adhesion molecules, chemokines, and chemokine receptors. Several key molecular players implicated in this process are expressed on monocytes and require protein-tyrosine sulfation for optimal function in vitro, including human CCR2, CCR5, CX3CR1, and PSGL-1. We therefore hypothesized that protein-tyrosine sulfation in hematopoietic cells plays an important role in the development of atherosclerosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Lethally-irradiated Ldlr(-/-) mice were rescued with hematopoietic progenitors lacking tyrosylprotein sulfotransferase (TPST) activity attributable to deletion of the Tpst1 and Tpst2 genes. TPST deficient progenitors efficiently reconstituted hematopoiesis in Ldlr(-/-) recipients and transplantation had no effect on plasma lipids on a standard or atherogenic diet. However, we observed a substantial reduction in the size of atherosclerotic lesions and the number of macrophages in lesions from hyperlipidemic Ldlr(-/-) recipients transplanted with TPST deficient progenitors compared to wild-type progenitors. We also document for the first time that murine Psgl-1 and Cx3cr1 are tyrosine-sulfated. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that protein-tyrosine sulfation is an important contributor to monocytes/macrophage recruitment and/or retention in a mouse model of atherosclerosis.