The interaction of oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) and macrophages is generally believed to be a significant inductive step in atherogenesis. Endocytosis of ox-LDL by scavenger receptors (SR) on macrophages is one result of this interaction, as is suppressed expression of several lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated, inflammatory genes such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). Events subsequent to SR ligation, including intracellular signaling events if any, have not been established. We report here that ox-LDL initiates rapid hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate 2 (PIP2) and intracellular fluxes of Ca2+ in macrophages, both of which are sensitive to pertussis toxin. ox-LDL also suppresses the LPS-induced binding of macrophage extracts to an NF kappa B sequence oligonucleotide and the LPS-initiated accumulation of RNA specific for TNF-alpha. These latter two effects are pertussis toxin-sensitive. Ligation of SR by ox-LDL thus initiates a pertussis toxin-sensitive signaling pathway in macrophages, which involves hydrolysis of PIP2 and which can suppress expression of the TNF-alpha gene by modulating activation of NF kappa B.

Low-light digitized video fluorescence microscopy has been utilized to measure the steady-state polarized fluorescence from the membrane probe diphenylhexatriene (DPH) and its cationic and phosphatidylcholine derivatives 1-(4-trimethylammoniumphenyl)-6-phenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (TMA-DPH) and 2-[3-(diphenylhexatrienyl)propanoyl]-3-palmitoyl-L-alpha-phosphati dylcholine (DPH-PC), respectively, in cell-size (10-70 microns) unilamellar vesicles composed of gel-or fluid-phase phospholipid. Using an inverted microscope with epi-illumination optics and an intensified silicon intensified target camera interfaced to a minicomputer, fluorescence images of single vesicles were obtained at emission polarizer orientations of 0 degrees, 45 degrees, 90 degrees, and 135 degrees relative to the excitation light polarization direction. Fluorescence intensity ratios F90 degrees/F0 degrees (= F perpendicular/F parallel) and F135 degrees/F45 degrees were calculated on a pixel-by-pixel basis from digitized image pairs. Theoretical expressions were derived for collected polarized fluorescence as a function of position on the membrane surface as well as the degree of lipid order, in terms of the fluorophore's maximum angular motional freedom in the bilayer (identical to theta max), using a modification of the method of D. Axelrod (1979. Biophys. J. 26:557-574) together with the "wobbling-in-a-cone" model of probe rotational diffusion. Comparison of experimental polarization ratios with theoretical ratios yielded the following results. In gel-phase dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine, the data for all three probes correspond to a model in which the cone angle theta max = 17 +/- 2 degrees and there exists a collective tilt of the phospholipid acyl chains of 30 degrees relative to the bilayer normal. In addition, approximately 5% of DPH and TMA-DPH molecules are aligned parallel to the plane of the bilayer. In fluid-phase palmitoyloleoyl-phosphatidylcholine, the data are well fit by models in which theta max = 60 +/- 2 degrees for DPH and DPH-PC and 32 +/- 4 degrees for TMA-DPH, with approximately 20% of DPH molecules and 10% of TMA-DPH molecules aligned parallel to the bilayer plane, and a net phospholipid tilt at or near the headgroup region of approximately 30 degrees. The results demonstrate that lipid order can be measured with a spatial resolution of approximately 1 micron2 in cell-size vesicles even with high aperture observation through a microscope.

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The interaction of altered lipids or proteins with the several scavenger receptors (SR) on macrophages can lead to disparate results in both gene expression and cell function. However, the molecular bases of signaling induced by SR ligation have remained obscure. Here we report that maleylated-bovine serum albumin (maleyl-BSA) binds a low-affinity SR, initiating PIP2 hydrolysis, [Ca2+]i spikes, phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activation, nuclear factor-kappa(B) (NF-kappa(B)) binding to its cognate nucleotide and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) gene transcription. We recently reported that oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL), which binds another macrophage SR, induced pertussis-toxin-sensitive hydrolysis of PIP2 and elevations in [Ca2+]i [J. Biol. Chem. 270, 3475-3478, 1995]. By contrast, maleyl-BSA-initiated events were not pertussis toxin-sensitive and produced less [Ca2+]i spiking than ox-LDL. Furthermore, maleyl-BSA led to binding of NF-kappa(B) to its cognate nucleotide and TNF-alpha gene transcription, whereas ox-LDL suppressed these events. Collectively, this data suggests that maleyl-BSA and ox-LDL bind to distinct SR on murine macrophages, initiate distinct signal transduction pathways, and produce different functional effects.