Objective: Vascular endothelial cells (VECs) downregulate their rate of glucose uptake in response to hyperglycemia by decreasing the expression of their typical glucose transporter GLUT-1. Hitherto, we discovered critical roles for the protein calreticulin and the arachidonic acid-metabolizing enzyme 12-lipoxygenase in this autoregulatory process. The hypothesis that 4-hydroxydodeca-(2E,6Z)-dienal (4-HDDE), the peroxidation product of 12-lipoxygenase, mediates this downregulatory mechanism by activating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) delta was investigated.
Research design and methods: Effects of 4-HDDE and PPARdelta on the glucose transport system and calreticulin expression in primary bovine aortic endothelial cells were evaluated by pharmacological and molecular interventions.
Results: Using GW501516 (PPARdelta agonist) and GSK0660 (PPARdelta antagonist), we discovered that high-glucose-induced downregulation of the glucose transport system in VECs is mediated by PPARdelta. A PPAR-sensitive luciferase reporter assay in VECs revealed that high glucose markedly increased luciferase activity, while GSK0660 abolished it. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis showed that high-glucose incubation substantially elevated the generation of 4-HDDE in VECs. Treatment of VECs, exposed to normal glucose, with 4-HDDE mimicked high glucose and downregulated the glucose transport system and increased calreticulin expression. Like high glucose, 4-HDDE significantly activated PPARdelta in cells overexpressing human PPAR (hPPAR)delta but not hPPARalpha, -gamma1, or -gamma2. Moreover, silencing of PPARdelta prevented high-glucose-dependent alterations in GLUT-1 and calreticulin expression. Finally, specific binding of PPARdelta to a PPAR response element in the promoter region of the calreticulin gene was identified by utilizing a specific chromatin immunoprecipitation assay.
Conclusions: Collectively, our data show that 4-HDDE plays a central role in the downregulation of glucose uptake in VECs by activating PPARdelta.