[HTML][HTML] The double‐edged sword of fibronectin in atherosclerosis

KJ Moore, EA Fisher - EMBO Molecular Medicine, 2012 - embopress.org
EMBO Molecular Medicine, 2012embopress.org
Atherosclerosis, the leading cause of death in Westernized countries, derives from a non-
resolving inflammation of the large arteries. A critical step in the initiation of an
atherosclerotic plaque is the expansion of intimal space (the area between the endothelial
cell (EC) lining and the medial smooth muscle cell layer) in susceptible regions of arteries
(Tabas et al, 2007). The disease-prone locations are largely determined by arterial blood
flow characteristics, with branch points and the lesser curvatures of arteries, where the flow …
Atherosclerosis, the leading cause of death in Westernized countries, derives from a non-resolving inflammation of the large arteries. A critical step in the initiation of an atherosclerotic plaque is the expansion of intimal space (the area between the endothelial cell (EC) lining and the medial smooth muscle cell layer) in susceptible regions of arteries (Tabas et al, 2007). The disease-prone locations are largely determined by arterial blood flow characteristics, with branch points and the lesser curvatures of arteries, where the flow is turbulent, being particularly disposed to plaque formation. At these sites, the normally thin intimal space expands with the deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM), which then serves as a sticky surface to trap LDL particles that are constantly crossing the endothelial layer to enter the artery. One reason for this retention is that the apoB100 molecule on the LDL particle has a specific domain that binds tightly to the ECM, and genetic causation studies in a mouse model of atherosclerosis have shown that when this domain is deleted, plaque burden is significantly reduced despite equivalent hyperlipidemia (Skalen et al, 2002). As implied by the ‘Response to Retention’hypothesis (Tabas et al, 2007), the retained lipoprotein particles set in motion the invasion of the arterial wall by monocytes that quickly become macrophages that engorge themselves on cholesterol and the other lipids to form foam cells. Foam cells not only physically expand the plaque, but by secreting a variety of chemokines and cytokines, they also create and amplify an inflammatory state (Fig 1).
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