Piezo1-mediated mechanotransduction enhances macrophage oxidized low-density lipoprotein uptake and atherogenesis.

ABSTRACT: Macrophages in the vascular wall ingest and clear lipids, but abundant lipid accumulation leads to foam cell formation and atherosclerosis, a pathological condition often characterized by tissue stiffening. While the role of biochemical stimuli in the modulation of macrophage function is well studied, the role of biophysical cues and the molecules involved in mechanosensation are less well understood. Here, we use genetic and pharmacological tools to show extracellular oxidized low-density lipoproteins (oxLDLs) stimulate Ca²⁺ signaling through activation of the mechanically gated ion channel Piezo1. Moreover, macrophage Piezo1 expression is critical in the transduction of environmental stiffness and channel deletion suppresses, whereas a gain-of-function mutation exacerbates oxL

SUBMITTER: Atcha H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11563038 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature