Acta Pharmacologica Sinica 2005 November; 26 (11): 1359-1364; doi: 10.1111/j.1745-7254.2005.00167.x

Aim: To investigate the effects of CpG-oligodeoxynucleotide (CpG-ODN) on the formation of macrophage foam cells and related gene expression.

Methods: A gene expression profile was examined by microarray techniques, and mRNA expression was detected by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The cholesterol and cholesteryl ester contents of cells were determined by high performance liquid chromatography.

Results: CD36, LPL, and Fcg2b, which were related to lipid metabolism and the formation of macrophage foam cells, were upregulated after CpG-ODN stimulation. The mRNA expression related to the formation of foam cells was confirmed by semiquantitative RT-PCR. Moreover, histochemical analysis confirmed that lipid deposits inside cells increased after CpG-ODN treatment. However, using flow cytometry, we found that CpG-ODN had no effect on the expression of membrane receptors.

Conclusion: CpG-ODN up-regulated the expression of genes in macrophage foam cell formation.

Keywords: CpG islands; oligodeoxyribonucleotides; foam cells; macrophages; LDL lipoprotein; gene expression; cholesterol; CD 36 antigens; lipoprotein lipase; Fc gamma receptor IIb