Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0004153 (atherosclerosis)
 77,401 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

It is generally accepted that the cell population of naturally occurring and experimental atherosclerotic lesions is constituted by smooth muscle cells and non-myogenic foam cells of monocytic origin. In the present investigation we studied aortic fatty streaks from cholesterol-fed African green monkeys. In addition to the traditionally recognized cell types, the majority of the lesions examined contained intimal granulocytic cells identified by their ultrastructural characteristics and granular content as neutrophils, mast cells-basophils, and eosinophils. The neutrophils, and mast cells-basophils additionally contained numerous cytoplasmic lipid droplets. The consistent observation of these cell types in our material suggests that these granulocytic elements are part of the cell population of fatty streaks. The role of these cells is not clear as yet, but it is likely that the enzymatic activity of neutrophils such as lipase, phospholipases A and B, elastase and collagenase may play a role in the clearing of arterial lipid as well as in arterial wall remodeling. The content and release of heparin and histamine by basophils and mast cells may play a role in preventing thrombus formation and in promoting lipolysis. Eosinophil peroxidase may activate histamine release by basophils and mast cells. The cytoplasmic lipid accumulation by neutrophils, basophils and mast cells may in turn contribute to the population of foam cells in these lesions.
Atherosclerosis 1982 Jun
PMID:The cell population of aortic fatty streaks in African green monkeys with special reference to granulocytic cells. An ultrastructural study. 711 63

The relationship between the extractability of collagen by enzymatic digestion and the degree of nonenzymatic glycation of collagen was examined in the aorta and skin from 38 subjects without diabetes mellitus (mean age: 62.3 +/- 20.2 years). Samples were obtained from the aortic media (M), lesion-free intima (I), atherosclerotic intima (A) and dermis of the skin (S). Collagen was extracted first by incubation with 1/50 (enzyme/substrate weight ratio) pepsin at 4 degrees C for 24 h (P-fraction) and then by incubation with 1/10 (enzyme/substrate weight ratio) pepsin at room temperature for 24 h (EP-fraction). The pepsin-insoluble precipitates were digested by incubation with 270 units of bacterial collagenase at 37 degrees C for 24 h (PIS-fraction). Collagen contents, ketoamines and collagen-linked fluorescence (CLF) were measured in each fraction. The amount of ketoamines and the level of CLF correlated inversely with the susceptibility of collagen to pepsin digestion in various tissues, including M, I, A and S. These values were highest in both the P- and EP-fractions of M, which contained the least amount of collagen extracted by pepsin digestion. In contrast, they were lowest in S, where the concentration of collagen extracted by pepsin digestion was greatest among all of the tissue samples. Atherosclerotic intima (A) and aortic media (M) showed an age-related increase in the total amount of collagen digested with pepsin and collagenase, which depended mainly on an increase in the content of pepsin-insoluble collagen. Although the total amount of collagen did not increase with advancing age in I or S, collagen in I and S became progressingly resistant to pepsin digestion. These results suggest that the age-related decrease in the susceptibility of collagen to pepsin digestion may be due to nonenzymatic glycation in atherosclerotic lesions as well as normal tissues, including the aortic media, lesion-free intima and skin. The level of CLF significantly increased with age in the P-fraction and/or EP fraction of M, I and S. However, there was no relationship between the level of CLF and the subject's age in A. Thus, the accumulation of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) on collagen fibers may be partially responsible for the increase in collagen matrix in atherosclerotic lesions of subjects without diabetes mellitus.
Atherosclerosis 1995 Jul
PMID:Nonenzymatic glycation and extractability of collagen in human atherosclerotic plaques. 748 34

Serum amyloid P component (SAP) is a glycoprotein in human plasma. We recently showed the localization of SAP in human atherosclerotic lesions by immunohistochemical staining. In this study, the presence of SAP in atherosclerotic lesions was confirmed, and the biochemical character of SAP in atherosclerotic intima was investigated and compared with that of native SAP. Atherosclerotic intima was sequentially extracted with 2 mmol/L CaCl2-Tris-buffered saline (TBS), 10 mmol/L EDTA-TBS, 3 mol/L guanidine-TBS, and collagenase digestion. The character of SAP in each extract was studied with double immunodiffusion, electroimmunoassay, crossed immunoelectrophoresis, and Western immunoblotting. The total amount of SAP in atherosclerotic intima was 190 +/- 64 micrograms/g wet tissue with an SAP-albumin ratio of 1:22.7, which is 44 times higher than the relative plasma ratio of 1:1000. This suggests that SAP is specifically localized in atherosclerotic lesions. SAP from the intima was indistinguishable from plasma or purified SAP with respect to immunological character and molecular weight. However, electrophoretic mobility and the binding of SAP to atherosclerotic intima appeared heterogeneous. Of total extractable SAP, about 43% appeared in the CaCl2-TBS fraction, 25% in the EDTA-TBS fraction, and 32% in the collagenase digestion fraction. SAP is one of the two pentraxins in human plasma; the other is C-reactive protein, which has also been reported to locate in atherosclerotic lesions. Our findings suggest a role for SAP in atherogenesis and encourage efforts to determine more precisely the physiological contributions of the pentraxin family to the development of atherosclerosis.
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PMID:Characterization of serum amyloid P component from human aortic atherosclerotic lesions. 774 34

A 170 kD protein, prominent in soluble extracts of rooster arteriosclerotic plaques, has been partially characterized. The protein was eluted from a size exclusion column in a broad molecular weight fraction > 100 kD. Concanavalin A and a murine polyclonal antibody raised against the isolated 170 kD protein reacted with the protein on Western blots. The 170 kD protein had an isoelectric point of approximately 5.4 and was digested by collagenase treatment. Amino acid analysis of a 70 kD fragment of the protein closely resembled that for chick collagen alpha 3 (VI). A 13 amino acid sequence within this 70 kD fragment had 69% identity and 85% homology to chicken collagen alpha 3 (VI). Soluble protein extracts from cultured plaque smooth muscle cells (SMC), and from healthy artery SMC, contained low levels of the protein. These cellular extracts also reacted with the polyclonal antibody described above. Although the protein lacks absolute amino acid sequence identity with collagen alpha 3 (VI) it shares with it many biochemical features, suggesting that the 170 kD protein is a variant species of chick collagen alpha 3 (VI).
Atherosclerosis 1995 Jan 20
PMID:Identification of a variant collagen alpha 3 (VI) in early-stage avian arteriosclerotic plaques. 777 79

Monocyte-derived foam cells figure prominently in rupture-prone regions of atherosclerotic plaques. Peripheral blood monocytes in culture can produce certain enzymes that degrade extracellular matrix, known as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Lipid-laden macrophages may thus contribute to weakening of extracellular matrix of rupture-prone atherosclerotic plaques. However, the spectrum and regulation of MMP production by foam cells remain unknown. To investigate this issue, we isolated lipid-laden macrophages from rabbit aortic lesions produced by a combination of hypercholesterolemia and balloon injury. Freshly isolated aortic macrophage foam cells, identified using cell-specific antibodies, contained immunoreactive stromelysin and interstitial collagenase, whereas alveolar macrophages isolated from the lungs of same rabbits did not. Macrophages from both tissue sources released gelatinolytic activity consistent with the 92-kDa gelatinase. In vitro, lipid-laden aortic macrophages, but not alveolar macrophages, synthesized de novo and released immunoprecipitable stromelysin and collagenase, with or without stimulation by phorbol ester or bacterial lipopolysaccharide. These stimuli caused foam cells to release additional gelatinolytic activity that migrated faster than a purified preparation of 92-kDa gelatinase in substrate-containing polyacrylamide gels, indicating activation of the 92-kDa gelatinase or induction of the 72-kDa gelatinase. Our results show that lipid-laden macrophages elaborate MMPs capable of degrading the major constituents of vascular extracellular matrix even without further stimulation. Therefore, these cells may contribute to remodeling of the extracellular matrix during atherogenesis and to the disruption of plaques often responsible for acute clinical manifestations of atherosclerosis.
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PMID:Macrophage foam cells from experimental atheroma constitutively produce matrix-degrading proteinases. 783 Dec 99

Hyperlipidemia, especially hypercholesterolemia, may contribute to glomerulosclerosis as it does to atherosclerosis. Low density lipoprotein (LDL) stimulates the production of extracellular matrix by mesangial cells in culture as well as the proliferation of mesangial cells. This study was carried out to examine the effects of LDL on the type IV collagen (CIV) production by cultured rat mesangial cells (CRMC). Subconfluent CRMC monolayers which were grown in RPMI with 20% lipid-free fetal calf serum for 48 h were challenged with LDL (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 micrograms/ml) for another 48 h. LDL was prepared from normal human plasma. Mesangial cell proliferation was examined by [3H]-thymidine uptake. Production of CIV was evaluated as the expression of CIV on the cell surface by flow-cytometric analysis. The collagen synthesis was measured by the [3H]-proline uptake. Total RNA was extracted from CRMC at 6 and 24 h of incubation with 150 micrograms/ml LDL, and Northern blotting and hybridization was performed with cDNAs for alpha 1-CIV, for 72-kD collagenase and for tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-2. The amount of total mRNA was corrected with beta-actin mRNA. Mesangial cell proliferation increased in all concentrations studied and had a peak value of 221% with 150 micrograms/ml of LDL. Expression of CIV increased by 30-60% in 100-200 micrograms/ml of LDL. Collagen synthesis also increased by 50-70% in 150-200 micrograms/ml of LDL. The mRNA ratio (procollagen alpha 1(IV)/beta-actin) increased to 133% at 24 h. The mRNA ratio (TIMP-2/beta-actin) increased to 137% at 24 h. mRNA ratios at 6 h showed no change.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Effects of low density lipoprotein on type IV collagen production by cultured rat mesangial cells. 793 24

Inflammatory reactions induce the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS): the reverse sequence of these events is also true. Moreover, many components of these reactions interact with a synergistic effect. In this short comprehensive review we analyze some of these interactions which may have pathological effects. Inflammatory reactions are triggered off by exogenous or endogenous aggressions and are characterized by cellular and vascular events. The activated leucocytes leave the circulating blood and reach the site of the aggression where they release a large amount of ROS as well as the content of their granules. The granular content is made in a large part by molecules with killing and degradative activities such as myeloperoxidase, defensins, elastase, collagenase, cathepsins and lysozyme. The inflammatory reaction is beneficial for humans when its effects are limited to the pathogens. The insufficiency of a component of the inflammatory reaction such as the production of ROS which is seen, for example in chronic granulomatous disease, leads to severe and recurrent bacterial infections. In other situations inflammatory reactions are deleterious because they are directed against normal tissues instead or in addition to pathogens. In some cases the behaviour of the phagocytes is modified because they have been primed by inflammatory molecules such tumor necrosis factor, LPS, interleukins or interferons. Priming often leads to a decreased speed of locomotion of the leucocytes with an increased susceptibility to their stimuli. The combination of these effects leads to a premature release by the phagocytes of their killing and degradative factors. Production of ROS such as that seen during irradiation, drug metabolism, or ischemia followed by reperfusion for example, induces inflammatory reactions with a secondary amplification of ROS production. Acute ROS production can also lead to thrombosis, whereas chronic ROS production can induce a chronic inflammatory reaction of the endothelium with atherosclerosis as a possible consequence. Some examples are also given to show that ROS might control positively or negatively the activity of inflammatory molecules. The multiplicity of the cross reactions between ROS and inflammation allows to suggest that drugs that disconnect these two events might be therapeutically used.
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PMID:[Reactive oxygen species and inflammation]. 801 8

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory reaction to accumulated extracellular lipid in the arterial intima. Evidence from pathological studies indicate that there is constant deposition and lysis of fibrin within the atherosclerotic arterial wall. In patients with stable peripheral atherosclerosis, the functional severity of the disease is associated with circulating fibrinogen and degradation of cross-linked fibrin reflecting procoagulant activity in the blood-vessel wall interface, or in the wall itself. In atheromas the fibrinolytic activity is connected to macrophages, which can assemble in the plasminogen-plasmin system and generate plasmin-mediated pericellular proteolysis in tissues with inflammation. Plasmin capable of activating collagenase may therefore be a candidate for plaque rupture. The nature of the exposed vascular tissue, the inflammatory state, tissue-factor dependent thrombin generation and the degree of matrix degradation regulate platelet reactivity. Little is yet known about platelet adhesive functions in proteolyzed collagens that are the underlying substrate where platelets deposit during plaque rupture, the triggering event for thrombosis. Research in these areas is likely to improve the understanding of the thrombogenicity of atheromas when the tissue is suddenly exposed to blood.
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PMID:Inflammation in atheroma: implications for plaque rupture and platelet-collagen interaction. 813 97

Mesangial cell (MC) hyperplasia and accumulation of extracellular matrix are hallmarks of chronic glomerular disease. The present in vitro study examined the effects of cell density on growth, extracellular matrix formation, and protein synthesis of cultured rat MCs. A negative linear relationship was found between initial plating density and DNA synthesis per cell after 24 hours incubation in medium with 10% fetal calf serum (range: 1 x 10(3) to 7 x 10(5) MCs/2cm2, r = 0.996, P < 0.001). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of the amount of fibronectin in the conditioned medium after 72 hours showed a negative relationship with increasing cell density. In contrast, the amount of cell-associated fibronectin increased to maximal values in confluent cultures, and no further increase was seen at supraconfluency. The relative collagen synthesis in the conditioned medium and cell layer--assessed by collagenase digestion after 5 hours [3H]proline pulse labeling--showed a similar pattern. Secreted collagen decreased with increasing cell density from 3.4% to 0.2% of total protein synthesis. In contrast, cell-associated collagen increased from 1.1% to 11.8% of newly synthesized protein until confluency followed by a decrease to 4.2% at supraconfluency. Specific immunoprecipitation of collagen types I, III, and IV revealed a significant (twofold) increase in collagen I synthesis per cell at confluency. Collagen III and IV synthesis was not affected by cell density. Specific protein expression in both the medium and cell layer were analyzed by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (150 to 20 kd, pI 5.0 to 7.0) after 20 hours steady-state metabolic labeling with [35S]methionine. Supraconfluent MCs displayed overexpression of 10, underexpression of four, new expression of five, and changed mobility of three different intracellular proteins. Of interest was the overexpression of two proteins (89 kd, pI 5.31 and 72 kd, pI 5.32) that were identified by immunoblotting as the stress proteins heat-shock protein 90 and glucose-related protein 78, respectively. The progressive increase of cell-associated fibronectin and collagens, particularly collagen type I, in confluent MCs resembles extracellular matrix accumulation in glomerular disease. The increased expression of stress proteins in supraconfluent MCs is of interest in view of the analogy between glomerulosclerosis and atherosclerosis in which stress proteins are expressed in high concentrations.
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PMID:Cell density modulates growth, extracellular matrix, and protein synthesis of cultured rat mesangial cells. 821 12

The effect of linoleic acid hydroperoxide on the production of proforms of matrix metalloproteinase-1, -2, and -3 (proMMP-1, -2, and -3) in cultured human arterial endothelial and smooth muscle cells was investigated. Upon cultivation of the endothelial cells in the absence of the hydroperoxide, only proMMP-1 was detected, and its amount was increased by cultivation with the hydroperoxide. In the cultures of the intimal smooth muscle cells in the absence of the hydroperoxide, a large amount of proMMP-2 and small amounts of proMMP-1 and -3 were detected, and the hydroperoxide treatment increased remarkably the amounts of proMMP-1 and -3, but rather decreased the amount of proMMP-2. In the cultures of the medial smooth muscle cells, the same tendency was observed. However, the amounts of these proenzymes found in the intimal smooth muscle cells exceeded those found in the medial smooth muscle cells, both in the absence and in the presence of the hydroperoxide. Possible involvement of these phenomena in atherogenesis was discussed.
Atherosclerosis 1993 May
PMID:Effect of linoleic acid hydroperoxide on production of matrix metalloproteinases by human aortic endothelial and smooth muscle cells. 835 51


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