Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin Over-Expressed in Human Atherosclerosis: Potential Role in Th17 Differentiation

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Adaptive immunity plays a critical role in atherosclerosis and T helper 17 (Th17) cells, a new T-cell lineage, are recently reported to be involved in atherosclerosis. However, the mechanism underlying Th17 inflammation in atherosclerosis remains largely unknown. Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is a novel IL-7-like cytokine and mainly responsible for Th2 inflammation in many inflammatory diseases. METHODS AND RESULTS: Immunohistochemistry showed that TSLP over-expressed in human atherosclerotic lesion and could be induced by ox-LDL in human vascular smooth muscle cells (HVSMCs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). TSLP, in turn, could activate dendritic cells (DCs) to differentiate Th17 inflammation in naive CD4(+) T cells. CONCLUSION: TSLP induced by ox-LDL could promote Th17 immune response in vitro, which may be implicated in Th17 inflammation in atherosclerosis.