Macrophage ILF3 promotes abdominal aortic aneurysm by inducing inflammatory imbalance in male mice

Imbalance of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses plays a crucial role in the progression of abdominal aortic aneurysms. ILF3, a known modulator of the innate immune response, is involved in cardiovascular diseases. This study aims to investigate the role of ILF3 in abdominal aortic aneurysm formation. Here, we use multi-omics analyzes, transgenic male mice, and multiplex immunohistochemistry to unravel the underlying involvement of ILF3 in abdominal aortic aneurysms. The results show that macrophage ILF3 deficiency attenuates abdominal aortic aneurysm progression, while elevated macrophage ILF3 exacerbates abdominal aortic aneurysm lesions. Mechanistically, we reveal that macrophagic ILF3 increases NF-κB activity by hastening the decay of p105 mRNA, leading to amplified inflammation in macrophages. Meanwhile, ILF3 represses the anti-inflammatory action by inhibiting the Keap1-Nrf2 signaling pathway through facilitating the ILF3/eIF4A1 complex-mediated enhancement of Keap1 translational efficiency. Moreover, Bardoxolone Methyl treatment alleviates the severity of abdominal aortic aneurysm lesions in the context of elevated ILF3 expression. Together, our findings underscore the significance of macrophage ILF3 in abdominal aortic aneurysm development and suggest its potential as a promising therapeutic target for abdominal aortic aneurysms. Here the authors investigate the involvement of the immune modulator ILF3 in abdominal aortic aneurysm, showing that macrophage ILF3 promotes aneurysm progression by increasing NF-kB activity and inhibiting Keap1-Nrf2 signaling.