Altered expression of Raet1e, a major histocompatibility complex class 1-like molecule, underlies the atherosclerosis modifier locus Ath11 10b

Abstract

Rationale: Quantitative trait locus mapping of an intercross between C57.Apoe-/- and FVB.Apoe-/- mice revealed an atherosclerosis locus controlling aortic root lesion area on proximal chromosome 10, Ath11. In a previous work, subcongenic analysis showed Ath11 to be complex with proximal (10a) and distal (10b) regions. Objective: To identify the causative genetic variation underlying the atherosclerosis modifier locus Ath11 10b. Methods and results: We now report subcongenic J, which narrows the 10b region to 5 genes, Myb, Hbs1L, Aldh8a1, Sgk1, and Raet1e. Sequence analysis of these genes revealed no amino acid coding differences between the parental strains. However, comparing aortic expression of these genes between F1.Apoe-/- Chr10SubJ(B/F) and F1.Apoe-/- Chr10SubJ(F/F) uncovered a consistent difference only for Raet1e, with decreased, virtually background, expression associated with increased atherosclerosis in the latter. The key role of Raet1e was confirmed by showing that transgene-induced aortic overexpression of Raet1e in F1.Apoe-/- Chr10SubJ(F/F) mice decreased atherosclerosis. Promoter reporter constructs comparing C57 and FVB sequences identified an FVB mutation in the core of the major aortic transcription start site abrogating activity. Conclusions: This nonbiased approach has revealed Raet1e, a major histocompatibility complex class 1-like molecule expressed in lesional aortic endothelial cells and macrophage-rich regions, as a novel atherosclerosis gene and represents one of the few successes of the quantitative trait locus strategy in complex diseases. © 2013 American Heart Association, Inc.