Cytokine-induced memory-like responses in endothelial cells link chronic inflammation to vascular disease risk

Abstract

Chronic inflammation plays a central role in the progression of both infectious and vascular diseases, yet its impact on endothelial cells (ECs), which form the interface between blood and tissue, remains poorly understood. Given their constant exposure to inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α and IFN-γ, we set out to investigate how cytokine induced inflammation shapes EC function at the molecular level. Using primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), we modeled repeated cytokine exposure to simulate a chronically inflamed microenvironment. Transcriptomic and epigenetic profiling revealed that ECs respond to this chronic stimulation with durable transcriptional and chromatin changes. These responses included phenotypes resembling immune cell priming, training, and tolerance, which are commonly associated with innate immune memory, a phenomenon whereby innate immune cells mount altered responses following previous stimulation. Although we did not observe classical trained immunity pathways, several genes known to mediate immune training, including TLR2, IL1B, and HDAC9, exhibited enhanced activation following TNF-α re-exposure. IFN-γ stimulation uniquely induced sustained expression and chromatin accessibility at MHC class II loci, suggesting cytokine-specific modes of reprogramming. Functionally, re-stimulated ECs exhibited enhanced monocyte adhesion in a 3D vessel-on-chip model, highlighting the relevance of these molecular changes to vascular inflammation. Moreover, the regulatory regions altered by cytokine exposure were enriched for disease-associated SNPs, particularly those linked to COVID-19, sepsis, and cardiovascular disorders. In summary, these findings reveal that repeated exposure to cytokines as seen in chronic inflammation can induce memory-like responses in ECs and suggest that endothelial reprogramming may contribute to vascular dysfunction.