Atorvastatin rescues vascular endothelial injury in hypertension by WWP2-mediated ubiquitination and degradation of ATP5A - 13/09/23
, Jingwei Liu c, ⁎, 1
, Yingxian Sun a, ⁎, 1
, Naijin Zhang a, d, ⁎, 1, 2 
Abstract |
As a widely used lipid-lowering drug in clinical practice, atorvastatin is widely recognized for its role in protecting vascular endothelium in the cardiovascular system. However, a clear mechanistic understanding of its action is lacking. Here, we found that atorvastatin counteracted angiotensin II-induced vascular endothelial injury in mice with hypertension. Mechanistically, atorvastatin up-regulated WWP2, a E6AP C-terminus (HECT)-type E3 ubiquitin ligase with an essential role in regulating protein ubiquitination and various biological processes, thereby rescuing vascular endothelial injury. By ubiquitinating ATP5A (ATP synthase mitochondrial F1 complex subunit alpha), WWP2 degraded ATP5A via the proteasome pathway, stabilizing Bcl-2/Bax in the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis. Moreover, atorvastatin further ameliorated death of vascular endothelial cells and improved vascular endothelial functions under WWP2 overexpression, whereas WWP2 knockout abrogated these beneficial effects of atorvastatin. Furthermore, we generated endothelial cell-specific WWP2 knockout mice, and this WWP2-mediated mechanism was faithfully recapitulated in vivo. Thus, we propose that activation of a WWP2-dependent pathway that is pathologically repressed in damaged vascular endothelium under hypertension is a major mechanism of atorvastatin. Our findings are also pertinent to develop novel therapeutic strategies for vascular endothelial injury-related cardiovascular diseases.
Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.Graphical Abstract |
Highlights |
• | Atorvastatin protects vascular endothelium by regulating WWP2-ATP5A at both animal and cellular levels. |
• | Atorvastatin up-regulate WWP2 in damaged vascular endothelial. |
• | WWP2 degraded ATP5A through the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway and inhibited abnormal activation of the Bax/Bcl-2 pathway, thereby reducing the degree of cell death. |
Abbreviations : HECT, AngII, HE, HUVECs, DMEM, FBS, SD, CHX
Keywords : Atorvastatin, Ubiquitination, WWP2, ATP5A, Cardiovascular diseases, Vascular endothelial injury
Plan
Vol 166
Article 115228- octobre 2023 Retour au numéroBienvenue sur EM-consulte, la référence des professionnels de santé.
L’accès au texte intégral de cet article nécessite un abonnement.
Déjà abonné à cette revue ?
