Chlamydophilal antigens induce foam cell formation via c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase.

Chlamydophila pneumoniae is known to be associated with atherosclerosis. Recent studies have reported that components of Chlamydophila pneumoniae (chlamydophilal antigens) induce foam cell formation in macrophages. However, the mechanism of foam cell formation induced by chlamydophilal antigens has yet to be elucidated. In this paper, we first found that mitogen-activated protein kinases including extracellular signal-regulated kinase, p38 and c-Jun NH2 terminal kinase are phosphorylated after stimulation by chlamydophilal antigens. We then showed that chlamydophilal antigens induce foam cell formation mainly via c-Jun NH2 terminal kinase. Finally, we demonstrated that foam cell formation and phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases induced by chlamydophilal antigens are mainly recognized through Toll-like receptor 2. These results collectively indicated that chlamydophilal antigens induce foam cell formation mainly via Toll-like receptor 2 and c-Jun NH2 terminal kinase.