Exclusive expression of transmembrane TNF-α in mice reduces the inflammatory response in early lipid lesions of aortic sinus

We investigated the effect of transmembrane form of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) on atherosclerosis in mice. We compared the development of early atherosclerotic lesions in the aortic sinus of (1) TNF-deficient mice that express only a non-cleavable transmembrane form of TNF (tmTNF), (2) wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 mice, and (3) TNF-deficient mice (TNF −/−). All mice were fed an atherogenic diet for 20 weeks. Lipid deposition was the most prominent in WT mice (25030±5693 μm 2), tended to be lower in tmTNF mice (13640±2190 μm 2, P>0.05 versus WT mice) and rare in TNF −/− mice (1408±513 μm 2, P