The modulation of endoplasmic reticulum stress by chemical chaperone upregulates immune negative cytokine IL-35 in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice.

Interleukin (IL)-35 is a newly identified immune negative molecule which is secreted by CD4(+)Foxp3(+) T regulatory cells (Tregs) and contributes to their suppressive capacity. Early data have shown that IL-35 inhibits development of several autoimmune diseases. However, the role of IL-35 in atherosclerosis, a lipid-driven chronic inflammatory disease in arterial wall, remains to be investigated. Here, we found that IL-35 was involved in atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE(-/-)) mice. ApoE(-/-) mice with established atherosclerotic lesion displayed a lower level of IL-35 compared to age-matched wild type C57BL/6 mice without plaque. However, IL-35 expression increased significantly in ApoE(-/-) mice with attenuated plaque. More importantly, we found that modulation of ER stress treated by chemical chaperone, 4-Phenyl butyric acid (PBA) in vivo, mainly upregulated immune negative regulating molecule IL-35, as well as IL-10 and Foxp3, accompanied by increased Tregs. However, no obvious impact on pro-inflammatory molecules such as TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-17 and IL-23 was observed, which provides new insight into the benefit of ER stress recovery from attenuated plaque. Our results suggest that IL-35 might have a potential value for atherosclerotic therapy.