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Atherosclerosis, commonly referred to as "hardening of thearteries," is a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke . The cause of atherosclerosis is not well understood but, for sometime, chronic inflammatory immune responses have been implicated indriving disease pathology. Now, a new study, published online byCell Press from the journal Immunity , identifies a type of immune cell that is not associated withpromoting disease, but with protection against atherosclerosis. Thefindings substantially advance the understanding of the compleximmune responses associated with atherosclerosis and may guideresearch to develop new therapeutic interventions. Atherosclerosis is a vascular disease characterized by theaccumulation of fatty material, such as cholesterol , in the wall of an artery. In the early stages of the disease,white blood cells called macrophages ingest the fatty material andbecome a major constituent of the soft, flaky plaques that narrowthe artery and reduce blood flow. Pieces of the plaque can alsobreak away and lodge in the brain, causing a stroke. Although thisrole for macrophages is well established, there are still manyunanswered questions about the involvement of other types of immunecells, such as dendritic cells (DCs). In the paper, the authors explain that, "The precise definition ofthe development and function of the immune cells in normal anddiseased blood vessels is increasingly important. Althoughmacrophages in the large vessels have been the object oflongstanding and considerable research, studies on aortic DCs aremore recent and less numerous." Senior study author, Dr. Ralph M.Steinman from Rockefeller University, was awarded the Nobel Prizefor Physiology and Medicine on October 3, 2011, but unfortunatelydied three days before receiving the news. "In our study wecompared DCs and macrophages side by side in the mouse aorta,whereas prior work has focused on one cell type or the other" saythe co-first authors Drs. Jae-Hoon Choi and Cheolho Cheong. Using a mouse model of atherosclerosis, the researchers discoveredthat there were more DCs than macrophages in the aorta and thatthere were two distinct types of DCs, "classical" DCs and DCs thatwere derived from white blood cells called monocytes.Interestingly, mice engineered to have fewer classical DCsdeveloped more severe atherosclerosis. This suggests that althoughmost types of immune cells are thought to exacerbateatherosclerosis, classical DCs may have a protective function. Steinman and colleagues wrote that, "These findings provide a moreprecise developmental and functional picture of the cell types inthe aorta and support the view that the immune response inatherosclerosis is a double edged sword, with one subset of DCsproviding a protective edge." "Further, understanding the roles ofDCs and their origins in atherosclerosis is providing new insightfor the treatment of atherosclerosis" adds co-author Dr. Goo TaegOh from Ewha Women's University in Korea. Additional References Citations. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Rubber Covered Roller Manufacturer , Rubber Ring Seals Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Viton Rubber O Rings today!
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