RNA-Binding Proteins in the Regulation of Vascular Inflammation and Immunity

Inflammation is designed to destroy, disable, or contain pathogenic invaders, but must be controlled to avoid destruction of key host systems, like the vasculature. When the interaction between immune cells and the vasculature goes awry, it can contribute to vascular lesions in aneurysm, atherosclerosis, and other

diseases. Our study of the interactions between innate immune cells and the arterial wall in models of atherosclerosis – a sterile and chronic injury process with a critical inflammatory component – has revealed broad regulation of alternative splicing responses that change the extracellular composition of the inflamed

intima and the behavior of recruited immune cells that protect the arterial wall from damage. Guided by these data and novel in vitro CRISPR screens to probe the function of RNA binding proteins (RBP) in the regulation endothelial inflammation, we have discovered a set of RBP responsive to innate immune cell

recruitment that are critical in orchestrating the activation of the endothelium through NFkB signaling. Here, we test the hypothesis that one of these RBP, Elavl1, coordinates alternative splicing in the arterial intima in response to innate immune cell recruitment to regulate chronic immune functions (Aim 1). In seeking a

deeper understanding of this immune-regulatory system, we made the unexpected discovery that, like Elavl1, many RBP strongly bind to transposable element (TE) sequences inserted within genes and their RNA transcripts (p