Atherosclerosis is the main cause of cardiovascular disease. Systemic inflammation is one important characteristic in atherosclerosis. Pro-inflammatory macrophages can secrete inflammatory factors and promote the inflammation of atherosclerosis. It has a great value for the treatment of atherosclerosis by inhibiting the release of inflammatory factors in macrophages. However, the detailed mechanism of this process is still unclear. In this study, we constructed an APOE-/- mice model of atherosclerosis to research the molecular mechanism of atherosclerosis. Protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 2 (PTPN2), an anti-inflammatory gene, was dramatically decreased in inflammatory mice. Deletion of PTPN2 could significantly induce monocytes toward M1 phenotype of macrophages, enhance the secretion of IL-12 and IL-1, and promote cell proliferation, invasion and metastasis. Mechanism research showed that PTPN2-mediated p65/p38/STAT3 de-phosphorylation could block the process of macrophage inflammation. In vivo experiments showed that PTPN2 may effectively inhibit the inflammatory response during atherosclerosis. In conclusion, we uncovered the negative role of PTPN2 in the occurrence of atherosclerosis, and this study provides a new potential target for atherosclerosis treatment.
Keywords: PTPN2; atherosclerosis; inflammation; macrophage.