2024-02-07 10:45:27
Scientists have identified an important mechanism through which atherosclerosis plaque regression can be achieved. The study reveals cells derived from smooth muscle as a new target on which to direct future therapies.
The research is the work of a team from the National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC), a center dependent on the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII), an organization attached to the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of Spain, and the University of Aarhus, in Denmark,
The identified mechanism is based on a type of inflammatory signaling in the cellular subsets of smooth muscle cells involved in the growth of atherosclerosis plaques. According to Jacob F. Bentzon, head of the participating teams at the CNIC and Aarhus University, “its discovery opens up new opportunities to design therapies aimed at enhancing the beneficial effect of cholesterol-lowering drugs and leading to a more effective regression of lesions in patients with advanced atherosclerosis.
Smooth muscle cells make up the wall of arteries and proliferate and transform into alternative cell types during atherosclerosis, responsible for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, such as heart attacks or strokes.
Blood cholesterol is the main cause of atherosclerosis, and reducing its levels with a healthy lifestyle or with specific medications, such as statins, is an effective way to prevent the development of dangerous atherosclerosis.
In cases in which advanced atherosclerosis has already developed, reducing cholesterol levels also serves to reduce the risk of irreversible lesions such as a myocardial or cerebral infarction. However, the mechanisms behind these effects have not been fully explained.
advanced atherosclerosis
“Our research findings show that when cholesterol reduction is initiated in mice with advanced atherosclerosis, the subset of cells derived from smooth muscle cells that grow plaques decreases, while other types of cells derived from smooth muscle cells remain unchanged. smooth muscle cells responsible for stabilizing the plates,” says Laura Carramolino, lead author of the work.
In the study, researchers from CNIC and Aarhus University show that specific subtypes of cells derived from smooth muscle cells disappear from plaques after lowering cholesterol, leading to shrinkage of atherosclerotic plaques. The team has also discovered part of the underlying mechanism that explains these beneficial effects.
Cross sections of aorta from mice with atherosclerosis plaques after 20 weeks fed a fatty diet (A) or after 16 weeks of fatty diet and 4 weeks of regression (B).
The research, highlights Laura Carramolino, has been possible not only thanks to “new technical tools that allow us to study in great detail the behavior of cells derived from smooth muscle in atherosclerosis, but also to formidable teamwork with the technical units of the CNIC. ”. The CNIC specializes in experimental mouse models, advanced microscopy, genomic analysis and bioinformatics, adds Carramolino.
The study is titled “Lowering Cholesterol Depletes Atherosclerotic Lesions of Smooth Muscle Cell-Derived Fibromyocytes and Chondromyocytes”. And it has been published in the academic journal Nature Cardiovascular Research. (Source: CNIC)
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