Endothelial c-REL orchestrates atherosclerosis at regions of disturbed flow through crosstalk with TXNIP-p38 and non-canonical NF-κB pathways.

Aims: Atherosclerosis initiation at sites of disturbed blood flow involves heightened inflammation coupled to excessive endothelial cell (EC) proliferation. Here, we unveil the pivotal role of c-REL, a member of the NF-κB transcription factor family, in orchestrating these processes by driving dual pathological inflammatory and cell cycle pathways.

Methods and results: Analysis of cultured EC and murine models revealed enrichment and activation of c-REL at atherosusceptible sites experiencing disturbed flow. Transcriptome analysis, extensively validated in vitro and in vivo, demonstrates that endothelial c-REL drives inflammation via a TXNIP-p38 MAP kinase signalling pathway and enhances proliferation through a non-canonical NFKB2-p21 pathway. Consistent with its pivotal role in EC pathology, genetic deletion of c-Rel in EC significantly reduces plaque burden in hypercholesterolemic mice.

Conclusions: These findings underscore the fundamental role of c-REL in endothelial responses to disturbed flow and highlight therapeutic targeting of endothelial c-REL as a potential strategy for atherosclerosis treatment.