Insulin inhibits inflammation and promotes atherosclerotic plaque stability via PI3K-Akt pathway activation

Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 induced inflammation was reported to play an important role in atherosclerotic plaque stability. Recent studies indicated that insulin could inhibit inflammation by activating phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-Akt-dependent (PI3K-Akt) signaling pathway. In the current study, we hypothesized that insulin would inhibit TLR4 induced inflammation via promoting PI3K-Akt activation, thus enhancing the stabilization of atherosclerotic plaques. In order to mimic the process of plaque formation, monocyte-macrophage lineage RAW264.7 were cultured and induced to form foam cells by oxidized LDL (ox-LDL). Oil red O staining results showed that insulin significantly restrained ox-LDL-induced foam cell formation. Analysis of inflammatory reaction during foam cell formation indicated that insulin significantly down-regulated the expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6 levels, inhibited TLR4, myeloid differentiation primary response gene (MyD) 88 and nuclear factor (NF)-κB. Further mechanism analysis showed that pretreating with the PI3K blocker, wortmannin dramatically dampened the insulin-induced up-regulation of pAkt expression. Additionally, blockade of PI3K-Akt signaling also dampened the immunosuppression effect brought by insulin. Following the construction of a rodent atherosclerosis model, pretreatment of insulin resulted in an evident decrease in lipid deposition of the blood vessel wall, serum levels of TNF-α and IL-6, and numbers of infiltrated macrophages and foam cells. Taken together, these results suggested that insulin might inhibit inflammation and promote atherosclerotic plaque stability via the PI3K-Akt pathway by targeting TLR4-MyD88-NF-κB signaling. Our findings may provide a potential target for the prevention of cardiovascular disease.