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Medical AI Inquiry: You was designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.  Labels: BACKGROUND, METHODS, RESULTS. Meshes: Animals, Atherosclerosis, Chemokine CCL2, Interleukin-15, Leukocytes, Male, Mice, Receptors, LDL, Spleen, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha.
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Does iL-15 aggravate atherosclerotic lesion development in LDL receptor deficient mice? Context: Interleukin 15 (IL-15) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine involved in inflammatory diseases and IL-15 is expressed in atherosclerotic plaques. To establish the role of IL-15 in atherosclerosis we studied the effect of IL-15 on atherosclerosis associated cells in vitro and in vivo by neutralizing IL-15 using a DNA vaccination strategy. Upon feeding a Western type diet LDLr(-/-) mice do express higher levels of IL-15 within the spleen and the number of IL-15 expressing cells among blood leukocytes and spleen cells is increased. Addition of IL-15 to macrophages induces the expression TNF-α and CCL-2. After the mice were vaccinated against IL-15, we observe a reduction in plaque size of 75% plaque. Unexpectedly, the relative number of macrophages within the plaque was 2-fold higher in IL-15 vaccinated mice than in control mice. Vaccination against IL-15 leads to an increased cytotoxicity against IL-15 overexpressing target cells, resulting in a reduction in IL-15 expressing cells and macrophages in blood and spleen and a decreased CD4/CD8 ratio.
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Hypercholesterolemia leads to upregulation of IL-15 within spleen and blood. DNA vaccination against IL-15 does markedly reduces atherosclerotic lesion size, but does not promote lesion stability. Final Decision: yes