Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by the collapse of the soft palate in the upper airway, resulting in chronic intermittent hypoxia (IH) during sleep. Therefore, an understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying pathophysiological dysfunction of soft palate in OSA is necessary for the development of new therapeutic strategies. In this study, we observed that HMGB1 was released by a large infiltration of macrophages in the soft palate of OSA patients. The TLR4/NF-κB pathway was observed to be activated by the release of HMGB1, and this was accompanied by an increased expression of pro-inflammatory factors, including TNF-α and IL-6. Importantly, increased expression of TLR4 was observed in endothelial cells, contributing to upregulation of the angiogenesis-related factors VEGF and MMP9. Moreover, we confirmed the effect of the HMGB1-mediated TLR4/NF-κB pathway on cell proliferation and angiogenesis in an in vitro cell model of HUVECs. We conclude that HMGB1 may be a potential therapeutic target for preventing angiogenesis and pathology in OSA.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
基金：
Youth core doctors of Tongren hospital(QNGG2018Y01), Talent Starting Foundation from Shanghai Jiao Tong University
School of Medicine (TR2016rc04), Science and Technology committee Foundation
from Changning District of Shanghai (CNKW2017Y04).
第一作者机构：[1]E.N.T. Department, Tongren Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200050, China.
通讯作者：
通讯机构：[1]E.N.T. Department, Tongren Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200050, China.[*1]E.N.T. Department, Tongren hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
推荐引用方式(GB/T 7714)：
Su Tiantian,Li Cong,Zhang Yu,et al.Upregulation of HMGB1 promotes vascular dysfunction in the soft palate of patients with obstructive sleep apnea via the TLR4/NF-κB/VEGF pathway[J].FEBS OPEN BIO.2023,13(2):246-256.doi:10.1002/2211-5463.13533.
APA：
Su Tiantian,Li Cong,Zhang Yu,Yue Lei,Chen Yuqin...&Shi Song.(2023).Upregulation of HMGB1 promotes vascular dysfunction in the soft palate of patients with obstructive sleep apnea via the TLR4/NF-κB/VEGF pathway.FEBS OPEN BIO,13,(2)
MLA：
Su Tiantian,et al."Upregulation of HMGB1 promotes vascular dysfunction in the soft palate of patients with obstructive sleep apnea via the TLR4/NF-κB/VEGF pathway".FEBS OPEN BIO 13..2(2023):246-256
