C/EBPβ in bone marrow is essential for diet induced inflammation, cholesterol balance, and atherosclerosis

Background and Objective Atherosclerosis is both a chronic inflammatory disease and a lipid metabolism disorder. C/EBPβ is well documented for its role in the development of hematopoietic cells and integration of lipid metabolism. However, C/EBPβ's role in atherosclerotic progression has not been examined. We assessed the impact of hematopoietic CEBPβ deletion in ApoE−/− mice on hyperlipidemia, inflammatory responses and lesion formation in the aorta. Methods and Results ApoE−/− mice were reconstituted with bone marrow cells derived from either WT or C/EBPβ−/− mice and placed on low fat or high fat/high cholesterol diet for 11 weeks. Hematopoietic C/EBPβ deletion in ApoE−/− mice reduced blood and hepatic lipids and gene expression of hepatic stearoyl CoA desaturase 1 and fatty acid synthase while expression of ATP binding cassette transporter G1, cholesterol 7-alpha-hydroxylase, and liver X receptor alpha genes were significantly increased. ApoE−/− mice reconstituted with C/EBPβ−/− bone marrow cells also significantly reduced blood cytokine levels and reduced lesion area in aortic sinuses compared with ApoE−/− mice reconstituted with WT bone marrow cells. Silencing of C/EBPβ in RAW264.7 macrophage cells prevented oxLDL-mediated foam cell formation and inflammatory cytokine secretion in conditioned medium. Conclusion C/EBPβ in hematopoietic cells is crucial to regulate diet-induced inflammation, hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis development.