Inflammatory Components of the Human Atherosclerotic Plaque

Rho-Kinase Is Involved in Macrophage-Mediated Formation of Coronary Vascular Lesions in Pigs In Vivo

“…Although previous studies have suggested the potential importance of the adventitia, 8,9 its role in vascular lesion formation has been largely ignored. We have previously shown that long-term adventitial treatment with inflammatory cytokines causes the development of vascular remodeling, neointimal formation, and vasospastic responses in porcine coronary arteries in vivo.…”

“…1 Although we also appreciate the importance of the inflammatory changes in the intima, we consider that adventitial inflammation may also play an important role in the vascular lesion formation as discussed above. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Furthermore, because we found that focal and long-term treatment with MCP-1 is applicable at the adventitia but not at the intima, we used the present adventitial approach. Second, the doses of MCP-1 and of Ox-LDL that were applied to the adventitia should have a clinical implication.…”

“…4 We have previously demonstrated that long-term local treatment with interleukin (IL)-1␤ from the adventitia causes the development of coronary vascular lesions and vasospastic responses in pigs in vivo, with macrophage accumulation noted in the adventitia. [5][6][7] Indeed, the importance of adventitial accumulation of inflammatory cells has been suggested for the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis 8,9 and acute coronary syndrome 10,11 in general and for that of coronary lesion formation after coronary intervention 12,13 in particular. However, it remains unknown whether adventitia-derived macrophages cause the formation of coronary lesions in vivo and, if so, what molecular mechanism(s) is involved in the process.…”

Antioxidative Activity of Sulfur-Containing Compounds in Allium Species for Human Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) Oxidation in Vitro

“…In particular, oxidatively modified low-density lipoprotein (Ox-LDL) was recognized to be an important step in the initiation and progression of atherosclerotic lesions (19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24). When LDL is oxidized, it is modified in a variety of ways through the reaction with reactive oxygen species (ROS) (22,25) or in various cultured cells (26). Ox-LDL is recognized by receptor on monocyte-derived macrophages and excessively internalized to lead to foam cell formation (27), so it is important to develop functional foods that contain antioxidative substances in connection with the prevention of atherosclerosis.…”