Investigation of the effects of Serum Amyloid A on human endothelial cells: implications in Atherosclerosis

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of serum amyloid a (SAA) on the gene expression profile in human endothelial cells and focused on the genes that are of potential clinical relevance.Using the microarray method, SAA was shown to have wide effects on gene expression profile in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), including the genes involved in endothelial proinflammation, dysfunction, procoagulation and plaque instability. These genes were further studied in HUVECs and human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) for their mRNA, protein and activity levels.These findings may pave the way for future studies to elucidate the novel mechanism of how the inflammatory protein SAA plays an important role in atherosclerosis.