Abstract
Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) play a crucial role in atherosclerotic lesion formation. Sparstolonin B (SsnB) is a TLR2/TLR4 antagonist that inhibits inflammatory responses in multiple cell types. Herein, we investigated if SsnB inhibited VSMC proliferation, migration, inflammatory response and lipid accumulation. We found that SsnB suppressed VSMC proliferation and migration induced by PDGF. SsnB significantly suppressed the expression of MCP-1, TNFα and IL-6 in VSMCs stimulated by either lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or PDGF. Erk1/2 and Akt signaling pathways, which are responsible for the VSMC inflammatory response, were activated by LPS or PDGF stimulation, and SsnB significantly inhibited their activation. SsnB also substantially suppressed the intracellular cholesterol accumulation in VSMCs loaded with acetylated LDL. Mechanistically, SsnB remarkably repressed LPS-induced up-regulation of CD36, which is responsible for lipid uptake, and dramatically reversed LPS-induced inhibition of ABCA1, which promotes the efflux of intracellular free cholesterol. In conclusion, our results indicate that SsnB significantly inhibits VSMC proliferation, migration, inflammatory responses and lipid accumulation. Along with the previously reported anti-inflammatory activities of SsnB on macrophages and vascular endothelial cells, our data strongly suggest that SsnB may be developed as a new anti-atherogenic therapy.