Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of dominant-negative mutant of c-Jun prevents intercellular adhesion molecule-1 induction by LDL - A critical role for activator protein-1 in endothelial activation

Low density lipoprotein (LDL) induces intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) gene expression and leads to endothelial cell (EC) leukocyte adhesion. However, the transcriptional mechanism for LDL-induced EC perturbation remains to be fully explained. Activator protein-1 (AP-1) is induced after the exposure of ECs to LDL. In the present study, a regulated adenovirus expressing a dominant-negative mutant of c-Jun (TAM-67) was used to examine the role of AP-1 in the LDL-induced ICAM-1 activation. Overexpression of TAM-67 specifically inhibited AP-1 activation and prevented the LDL-activated surface expression of ICAM-1 protein in human umbilical vein ECs and human coronary artery ECs. Northern analyses and promoter transactivation assays indicated that this effect of TAM-67 was likely mediated through a suppression of the transcriptional regulation of the ICAM-1 gene. Functionally, TAM-67 attenuated leukocyte adherence to ECs in response to LDL. Furthermore, electrophoresis mobility shift assays and site-directed mutagenesis suggested that an AP-1-like motif in the promoter region of the human ICAM-1 gene was a critical cis element for LDL induction. These results, for the first time, provide evidence suggesting that AP-1 is a major regulatory mechanism leading to endothelial activation.