| 1. |
- Asciutto, Giuseppe, et al.
(författare)
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Low elastin content of carotid plaques is associated with increased risk of ipsilateral stroke.
- 2015
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Ingår i: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 10:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Atherosclerotic plaques with a low content of connective tissue proteins are believed to have an increased risk of rupture and to give rise to clinical events. The aim of the present study was to investigate if the content of elastin, collagen and of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) -1, -3, -9 and -12 in plaques removed at surgery can be associated with the occurrence of ipsilateral symptoms.
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| 2. |
- Chen, Yihong, et al.
(författare)
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Circulating Hepatocyte Growth Factor Reflects Activation of Vascular Repair in Response to Stress
- 2022
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Ingår i: JACC: Basic to Translational Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 2452-302X. ; 7:8, s. 747-762
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is released by stressed human vascular cells and promotes vascular cell repair responses in both autocrine and paracrine ways. Subjects with a low capacity to express HGF in response to systemic stress have an increased cardiovascular risk. Human atherosclerotic plaques with a low content of HGF have a more unstable phenotype. The present study shows that subjects with a low ability to express HGF in response to metabolic stress have an increased risk to suffer myocardial infarction and stroke.
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| 3. |
- Chen, Yihong, et al.
(författare)
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Evidence for a protective role of placental growth factor in cardiovascular disease
- 2020
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Ingår i: Science Translational Medicine. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 1946-6242 .- 1946-6234. ; 12:572
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Placental growth factor (PlGF) is a mitogen for endothelial cells, but it can also act as a proinflammatory cytokine. Because it promotes early stages of plaque formation in experimental models of atherosclerosis and was implicated in epidemiological associations with risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), PlGF has been attributed a pro-atherogenic role. Here, we investigated whether PlGF has a protective role in CVD and whether elevated PlGF reflects activation of repair processes in response to vascular stress. In a population cohort of 4742 individuals with 20 years of follow-up, high baseline plasma PlGF was associated with increased risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, and stroke, but these associations were lost or weakened when adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors known to cause vascular stress. Exposure of cultured endothelial cells to high glucose, oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or an inducer of apoptosis enhanced the release of PlGF. Smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells treated with PlGF small interference RNA demonstrated that autocrine PlGF stimulation plays an important role in vascular repair responses. High expression of PlGF in human carotid plaques removed at surgery was associated with a more stable plaque phenotype and a lower risk of future cardiovascular events. When adjusting associations of PlGF with cardiovascular risk in the population cohort for plasma soluble tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) receptor-2, a biomarker of cellular stress, a high PlGF/TRAIL receptor-2 ratio was associated with a lower risk. Our findings provide evidence for a protective role of PlGF in CVD.
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| 4. |
- Edsfeldt, Andreas, et al.
(författare)
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Circulating cytokines reflect the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in atherosclerotic plaques.
- 2015
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Ingår i: Atherosclerosis. - : Elsevier BV. - 1879-1484 .- 0021-9150. ; 241:2, s. 443-449
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Inflammation is a key factor in the development of plaque rupture and acute cardiovascular events. Although imaging techniques can be used to identify vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques, we are lacking non-invasive methods, such as plasma markers of plaque inflammation that could help to identify presence of vulnerable plaques. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether increased plasma levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines reflects inflammatory activity within atherosclerotic plaques.
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| 5. |
- Edsfeldt, Andreas, et al.
(författare)
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Impaired Fibrous Repair: A Possible Contributor to Atherosclerotic Plaque Vulnerability in Patients With Type II Diabetes.
- 2014
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Ingår i: Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology. - 1524-4636. ; 34:9, s. 2143-2150
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Diabetes mellitus (DM) type II is increasing rapidly worldwide. Patients with DM II have a greater atherosclerotic burden and higher risk of developing cardiovascular complications. Inflammation has been proposed as the main cause for the high risk of atherosclerotic disease in DM II. In this study, we compared markers of inflammation and fibrous repair in plaques from subjects with and without DM II.
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| 6. |
- Goncalves, Isabel, et al.
(författare)
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Evidence Supporting a Key Role of Lp-PLA2-Generated Lysophosphatidylcholine in Human Atherosclerotic Plaque Inflammation.
- 2012
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Ingår i: Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology. - 1524-4636. ; 32:6, s. 1505-1505
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the level of lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPC) generated by lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) is associated with severity of inflammation in human atherosclerotic plaques. Elevated plasma Lp-PLA2 is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Lp-PLA2 inhibition reduces atherosclerosis. Lp-PLA2 hydrolyzes low-density lipoprotein-oxidized phospholipids generating lysoPCs. According to in vitro studies, lysoPCs are proinflammatory but the association between their generation and plaque inflammation remains unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: Inflammatory activity in carotid plaques (162 patients) was determined immunohistochemically and by analyzing cytokines in homogenates (multiplex immunoassay). LysoPCs were quantified using mass spectrometry and Lp-PLA2 and the lysoPC metabolite lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) by ELISA. There was a strong correlation among lysoPC 16:0, 18:0, 18:1, LPA, and Lp-PLA2 in plaques. LysoPC 16:0, 18:0, 18:1, LPA, and Lp-PLA2 correlated with interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, macrophage inflammatory protein-1β, regulated on activation normal T-cell expressed and secreted, and tumor necrosis factor-α in plaques. High lysoPC and Lp-PLA2 correlated with increased plaque macrophages and lipids and with low content of smooth muscle cells, whereas LPA only correlated with plaque macrophages. Lp-PLA2, lysoPC 16:0, 18:0, and 18:1, but not LPA were higher in symptomatic than in asymptomatic plaques. CONCLUSIONS: The associations among Lp-PLA2, lysoPCs, LPA, and proinflammatory cytokines in human plaques suggest that lysoPCs play a key role in plaque inflammation and vulnerability. Our findings support Lp-PLA2 inhibition as a possible strategy for the prevention of cardiovascular disease.
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| 7. |
- Grufman, Helena, et al.
(författare)
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Evidence for altered inflammatory and repair responses in symptomatic carotid plaques from elderly patients.
- 2014
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Ingår i: Atherosclerosis. - : Elsevier BV. - 1879-1484 .- 0021-9150. ; 237:1, s. 177-182
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Most acute cardiovascular events are caused by rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque. The incidence of cardiovascular events increases with age and inflammation is generally considered to be the main cause of increased plaque vulnerability. However, the relationship between age and plaque inflammation has not yet been fully clarified. The aim of our study was to determine if age-dependent plaque vulnerability is associated with increased plaque inflammation.
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| 8. |
- Grufman, Helena, et al.
(författare)
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Plasma levels of high-sensitive C-reactive protein do not correlate with inflammatory activity in carotid atherosclerotic plaques.
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Internal Medicine. - : Wiley. - 1365-2796 .- 0954-6820. ; 275:2, s. 127-133
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It is well established that subjects with moderately elevated plasma levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) have an increased risk of development of cardiovascular events. As atherosclerosis is a disease characterized by chronic arterial inflammation, it is possible that moderate increases in CRP level reflect the presence of plaque inflammation. To investigate this possibility we compared plasma levels of hsCRP the day before carotid endarterectomy with the degree of inflammation in the excised plaque tissue.
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| 9. |
- Hultman, Karin, et al.
(författare)
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Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein Associates With a Vulnerable Plaque Phenotype in Human Atherosclerotic Plaques
- 2019
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Ingår i: Stroke. - 1524-4628. ; 50:11, s. 3289-3292
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and Purpose- Extracellular matrix proteins are important in atherosclerotic disease by influencing plaque stability and cellular behavior but also by regulating inflammation. COMP (cartilage oligomeric matrix protein) is present in healthy human arteries and expressed by smooth muscle cells. A recent study showed that transplantation of COMP-deficient bone marrow to apoE-/- mice increased atherosclerotic plaque formation, indicating a role for COMP also in bone marrow-derived cells. Despite the evidence of a role for COMP in murine atherosclerosis, knowledge is lacking about the role of COMP in human atherosclerotic disease. Methods- In the present study, we investigated if COMP was associated with a stable or a vulnerable human atherosclerotic plaque phenotype by analyzing 211 carotid plaques for COMP expression using immunohistochemistry. Results- Plaque area that stained positive for COMP was significantly larger in atherosclerotic plaques associated with symptoms (n=110) compared with asymptomatic plaques (n=101; 9.7% [4.7-14.3] versus 5.6% [2.8-9.8]; P=0.0002). COMP was positively associated with plaque lipids (r=0.32; P=0.000002) and CD68 cells (r=0.15; P=0.036) but was negatively associated with collagen (r=-0.16; P=0.024), elastin (r=-0.14; P=0.041), and smooth muscle cells (r=-0.25; P=0.0002). COMP was positively associated with CD163 (r=0.37; P=0.00000006), a scavenger receptor for hemoglobin/haptoglobin and a marker of Mhem macrophages, and with intraplaque hemorrhage, measured as glycophorin A staining (r=0.28; P=0.00006). Conclusions- The present study shows that COMP is associated to symptomatic carotid atherosclerosis, CD163-expressing cells, and a vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque phenotype in humans.
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| 10. |
- Nilsson, Jan, et al.
(författare)
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Chronic Inflammation and Atherosclerosis
- 2015
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Ingår i: Early Vascular Aging (EVA) : New Directions in Cardiovascular Protection - New Directions in Cardiovascular Protection. - 9780128013878 - 9780128016763 ; , s. 157-167
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Inflammation is a vital response and necessary for maintaining homeostasis. Inflammation protects against tissue damage and pathogens-but is also one of the main driving forces of the atherosclerotic plaque progression. How and why the inflammatory response is initiated in the atherosclerotic disease is not fully known, but evidence suggests modified lipids as potential antigens activating the immune response, according to the response-to-retention theory. The inflammatory response is an intricate interplay between the innate and adaptive immune system, tightly regulated by pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. Besides its role in the formation of the atherosclerotic plaque many studies also point toward inflammation as a driving force of plaque vulnerability and eventually plaque rupture.
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