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Acrolein increases macrophage atherogenicity in association with gut microbiota remodeling in atherosclerotic mice: protective role for the polyphenol-rich pomegranate juice

  • Molecular Toxicology
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Abstract

The unsaturated aldehyde acrolein is pro-atherogenic, and the polyphenol-rich pomegranate juice (PJ), known for its anti-oxidative/anti-atherogenic properties, inhibits macrophage foam cell formation, the hallmark feature of early atherosclerosis. This study aimed to investigate two unexplored areas of acrolein atherogenicity: macrophage lipid metabolism and the gut microbiota composition. The protective effects of PJ against acrolein atherogenicity were also evaluated. Atherosclerotic apolipoprotein E-deficient (apoE−/−) mice that were fed acrolein (3 mg/kg/day) for 1 month showed significant increases in serum and aortic cholesterol, triglycerides, and lipid peroxides. In peritoneal macrophages isolated from the mice and in J774A.1 cultured macrophages, acrolein exposure increased intracellular oxidative stress and stimulated cholesterol and triglyceride accumulation via enhanced rates of their biosynthesis and over-expression of key regulators of cellular lipid biosynthesis: sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs), 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCR), and diacylglycerol acyltransferase1 (DGAT1). Acrolein-fed mice demonstrated a major shift in the gut microbiota composition, including a significant phylum-level change in increased Firmicutes and decreased Bacteroidetes. At the family level, acrolein significantly increased the prevalence of Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae of which the Coprococcus genus was significantly and positively correlated with serum, aortic and macrophage lipid levels and peroxidation. The pro-atherogenic effects of acrolein on serum, aortas, macrophages, and the gut microbiota were substantially abolished by PJ. In conclusion, these findings provide novel mechanisms by which acrolein increases macrophage lipid accumulation and alters the gut microbiota composition in association with enhanced atherogenesis. Moreover, PJ was found as an effective strategy against acrolein atherogenicity.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by: Technion Rappaport Institute for Research in the Medical Sciences, Bio Rap Technologies, and the Clinical Research Institute at Rambam. Special thanks to Mira Rosenblat, Nina Volkova, and Dr. Niroz Abu-Saleh for their valuable technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Lipid Research Laboratory, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Efron 1, Bat Galim, 31096, Haifa, Israel

    Oren Rom, Tony Hayek & Michael Aviram

  2. Laboratory of Applied Genomics, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

    Hila Korach-Rechtman, Yael Danin-Poleg & Yechezkel Kashi

  3. Department of Internal Medicine E, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel

    Tony Hayek

  4. Department of Statistics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA

    Haim Bar

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  1. Oren Rom
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  2. Hila Korach-Rechtman
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Correspondence to Oren Rom.

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Rom, O., Korach-Rechtman, H., Hayek, T. et al. Acrolein increases macrophage atherogenicity in association with gut microbiota remodeling in atherosclerotic mice: protective role for the polyphenol-rich pomegranate juice. Arch Toxicol 91, 1709–1725 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-016-1859-8

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