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Published on: May 6, 2014

Vitronectin in atherosclerotic disease

Ozlem Balci Ekmekçi1, Hakan Ekmekçi

  • 1Istanbul University, Istanbul Medical Faculty, Department of Pediatric Heamatology/Oncology, Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit, Istanbul, Turkey.

Clinica Chimica Acta; International Journal of Clinical Chemistry
|February 8, 2006
PubMed

Atherosclerosis is characterized by the development of an intimal thickening that contains monocytes, T lymphocytes, and smooth muscle cells within an accumulation of lipid and extracellular matrix proteins. Vitronectin is a plasma glycoprotein implicated as a regulator of diverse physiological process, including blood coagulation, fibrinolysis, pericellular proteolysis, complement dependent immune responses, and cell attachment and spreading. Because of its ability to bind platelet glycoproteins and mediate platelet adhesion and aggregation at sites of vascular injury, vitronectin has become an important mediator in the pathogenesis of coronary atherosclerosis.

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