Class A scavenger receptor deficiency augments angiotensin II-induced vascular remodeling

Class A scavenger receptor (SR-A) is a multifunctional molecule that participates in macrophage-mediated inflammation. Here we evaluated the role of SR-A in angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced hypertensive vascular remodeling. Chronic infusion of Ang II leads to an increased systolic blood pressure both in SR-A knockout (SR-A(-/-)) and wild type (SR-A(+/+)) mice with no significant difference between these two groups. SR-A(-/-) hypertensive mice, however, exhibited a marked augmentation of arterial wall thickening and vascular cell proliferation compared with SR-A(+/+) hypertensive mice. M1 macrophage markers were increased whereas M2 macrophage markers were decreased in vascular tissues of SR-A(-/-) mice. Co-culture experiments revealed that more pro-inflammatory cytokines like TNF-α were produced by SR-A(-/-) peritoneal macrophages leading to a stronger proliferation of primary vascular smooth muscle cells in vitro. In addition, SR-A(-/-) macrophages were more prone to lipopolysaccharide-induced M1 differentiation while resisting interleukin-4-induced M2 differentiation. Importantly, transplantation of SR-A(-/-) bone marrow into SR-A(+/+) mice significantly augmented Ang II-induced vascular remodeling. These results show that SR-A is critical for Ang II-induced vascular remodeling by regulating macrophage polarization. Therefore, SR-A may be a useful therapeutic target for the intervention of hypertensive vascular remodeling.