The growth of deadly plaque inside the walls of arteries may not happen as scientists believed, research from the University of Toronto and Massachusetts General Hospital has found.
The research also suggests a new potential target in the treatment of atherosclerosis, a leading cause of cardiovascular disease and death globally.
The research team found that macrophages, white blood cells that drive atherosclerosis, replicate inside plaques. Moreover, this growth is not reliant on cells outside the plaques called monocytes, as scientists had assumed.
“Until now, the thinking was that inflammatory macrophages arise mainly from the recruitment of their precursors — monocytes — from the bloodstream,” said Clint Robbins, lead author on the study and an Assistant Professor in U of T’s Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, and Immunology. “Our study shows that the accumulation of macrophages also depends on their proliferation locally within the developing plaque.”
The journal Nature Medicine published the study results today.
The impact of the research on clinical treatments could be large. Many pharmaceutical companies are pouring resources into potential therapies that can block the recruitment of white blood cells into plaques. But if macrophages self-sustain through local cell division, blocking recruitment may not be the best strategy.
“I think this work will force some major re-evaluations,” said Filip Swirski, the study’s principal investigator who is a scientist in the Center for Systems Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. “People have been thinking of targeting monocyte influx to treat atherosclerosis, but they need to consider macrophage proliferation as an additional or alternative approach, especially in established disease.”
That approach might be better than targeting circulating monocytes, since interrupting disease-causing processes within plaques could spare other beneficial immune responses that monocytes control, said Swirski.
As well, it could help improve the current standard of care in treating atherosclerosis: statin therapy. Statins, in addition to lowering blood lipids that contribute to plaque, have anti-inflammatory properties. The researchers are now looking at whether statins might limit the spread of macrophages within plaques.
“Additional targeting of macrophage proliferation may further decrease inflammation in atherosclerosis and prove clinically advantageous,” said Robbins, who is also a scientist in the Toronto General Research Institute at University Health Network.
The researchers conducted their study in mice, and they caution that much more research is needed to see how the work will translate to humans. But encouragingly, they found evidence of macrophage growth in plaques from human carotid arteries.
The Latest Bing News on:
Heart disease
- Study: Genetic risk for heart disease is far less predictive of problems than actual lifestyle risk factorson August 7, 2022 at 5:00 am
A genetic risk for heart disease is far less predictive of problems than actual lifestyle risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes -- even among younger adults.
- At 15, she knew heart disease lurked in her genes. At 37, it caught up to this momon August 6, 2022 at 7:50 pm
Katie's paternal grandfather died of a massive heart attack at age 38. An uncle had his first heart attack at age 25; he later died from a heart attack at age 52. Katie was put on medication and told ...
- 4 Drinking Habits to Avoid if You Have Heart Diseaseon August 5, 2022 at 4:56 am
Protecting your ticker involves more than just watching what you eat. It's also important to ditch these unhealthy drinking habits.
- What parents can do to protect kids from heart diseaseon August 4, 2022 at 2:04 pm
The consequences of heart disease often don't show up until someone is well into adulthood. Why should busy parents be thinking about it in their kids? "Because it's probably way easier to prevent the ...
- AHA News: What Parents Can Do to Protect Kids From Heart Diseaseon August 4, 2022 at 7:47 am
The consequences of heart disease often don't show up until someone is well into adulthood. Why should busy parents be thinking ...
- Genes involved in heart disease are similar across all populations, study findson August 3, 2022 at 1:20 pm
The genes involved in coronary heart disease, the most common form of heart disease, appear to be nearly the same for everyone, according to a new study.
- Investigating protein signature changes during heart disease caused by reductive stresson August 3, 2022 at 1:19 pm
University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers and colleagues reported that reductive stress—an imbalance in the normal oxidation/reduction, or redox, homeostasis—caused pathological changes ...
- Alnylam Shares Soar as Drug Trial for Heart Disease Delivers Positive Resultson August 3, 2022 at 11:26 am
The biotech said one of its drugs helped improve heart-disease patients’ capacity for physical exertion in a study, opening the door to an expanded regulatory approval that could add billions of ...
- Heart Disease Risk: How Our Bodies Digest Red Meat May Be a Factoron August 1, 2022 at 8:31 pm
Researchers say the way our gut microbiome reacts to the digestion of red meat may be one of the factors in increasing the risk of heart disease ...
- Cardiomyopathy is scary. But today, the heart disease is less deadly.on August 1, 2022 at 4:17 am
Heart disease remains America’s leading killer. But medical innovations have made cardiomyopathy, a.k.a. the scary-sounding condition “heart failure,” less of a threat. Cardiomyopathy affects ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Heart disease
The Latest Bing News on:
Heart disease plaques
- Baby girl with rare disease to have liver transplant two weeks after having heart surgeryon August 9, 2022 at 5:23 am
Devoted newlyweds whose adorable baby girl was whisked into hospital three days into their honeymoon and had open heart surgery two weeks ago are now on tenterhooks as the “smiley” tot awaits a liver ...
- This Is the No. 1 Heart Disease Symptom People Ignore, Doctors Sayon August 9, 2022 at 4:04 am
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., representing a wide range of potentially lethal heart conditions. The most common type of heart disease—and the number one cause of heart ...
- Here are the Signs of the Autoimmune Disease Ashton Kutcher Felton August 9, 2022 at 3:45 am
Ashton Kutcher is opening up about his recent battle with a rare form of autoimmune disease that left him bedridden.
- Which State Had The Most Deaths From Heart Disease In 2021?on August 8, 2022 at 1:38 pm
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. The term heart disease refers to many different conditions that ...
- Peripheral artery disease can signal cardiovascular trouble for heart, brain and legson July 31, 2022 at 5:00 pm
If you have not heard of peripheral artery disease, you are not alone. While physicians and health organizations have made headway in raising awareness that heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death ...
- Heart disease: The tasty food that can reduce your risk - Effects are ‘undeniable’on July 26, 2022 at 11:11 am
This culprit can boost your risk of heart disease without showing many warning signs. The good news is that a new study, published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, found that cocoa could ...
- What Is Multivessel Coronary Artery Disease?on July 25, 2022 at 1:24 pm
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the ... One way this can happen is if plaque builds up in your arteries. Plaque is made up of fats, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances.
- Coronary Heart Diseaseon July 19, 2022 at 5:00 pm
Coronary heart disease is the narrowing or blockage of ... is the buildup of cholesterol and fatty deposits (called plaques) on the inner walls of the arteries. These plaques can restrict blood ...
- Coronary Heart Diseaseon July 19, 2022 at 5:00 pm
Coronary heart disease is the narrowing or blockage of ... is the buildup of cholesterol and fatty deposits (called plaques) on the inner walls of the arteries. These plaques can restrict blood ...
- Heart disease: The telling sign on your ankles - symptomson July 18, 2022 at 9:10 am
With rates set to rise, it is crucial to do all that is necessary to reduce the risk of heart disease occurring. Furthermore, it is incumbent on all to look out for signs of the condition so ...