Supplementary Material for: Toll-like receptor 2 attenuates the formation and progression of Angiotensin II induced abdominal aortic aneurysm in ApoE-/- mice

Introduction: We demonstrated toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 in the pathogenesis of AngiotensinII (AngII) mediated AAA formation. Here we study TLR2 in the AAA formation. Methods: Male ApoE-/- and ApoE-/-TLR2-/- mice were treated with AngII. Mice were injected with the TLR2 agonist Pam3CSK4. The incidence and severity of AAA were determined. MCP-1, MCP-5, Rantes, CXCL10, CCR5 and CXCR3 were analyzed. M1 and M2 macrophages in aorta were detected by flow cytometry. Results: These studies demonstrated an increase in AAA formation in TLR2-/- mice and a decrease by Pam3CSK4. Pam3CSK4 decreased the ratio of M1/M2, the levels of Rantes, CXCL10, CCR5 and CXCR3. Furthermore, Pam3CSK4 treatment one week following AngII retarded the progression of AAA. Conclusion: These data demonstrated a protective effect of TLR2 signaling on AAA in association with a decrease in the ratio of M1 to M2 macrophages and the expression of chemokines and their receptors. Furthermore, the treatment of Pam3CSK4 after AngII demonstrated a marked retardation of lesion progression. Given the fact that most AAAs patients are detected late in the disease process, these findings suggest that TLR2 stimulation may play a therapeutic role in retarding disease progression.