Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the role of the endothelial glucocorticoid receptor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.
Approach and results: Control mice and mice lacking the endothelial glucocorticoid receptor were bred onto an Apoe knockout background and subjected to high-fat diet feeding for 12 weeks. Assessment of body weight and total cholesterol and triglycerides before and after the diet revealed no differences between the 2 groups of mice. However, mice lacking the endothelial glucocorticoid receptor developed more severe atherosclerotic lesions in the aorta, brachiocephalic artery, and aortic sinus, as well as a heightened inflammatory milieu as evidenced by increased macrophage recruitment in the lesions.
Conclusions: These data suggest that the endothelial glucocorticoid receptor is important for tonic inhibition of inflammation and limitation of atherosclerosis progression in this model.
Keywords: atherosclerosis; endothelium; glucocorticoid receptor.
© 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.