Inflammation and atherosclerosis

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Immunology
• Metabolic Diseases

Background:

• Despite effective treatments for hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, cardiovascular mortality remains high in industrialized nations.
• Inflammation plays a critical role in the development of atherosclerosis.
• High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) is a marker of cardiovascular risk, but its interpretation is complicated by correlations with other risk factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of inflammation, specifically pro-inflammatory macrophages in visceral adipose tissue, in atherogenesis.
• To explore the synergistic effects of inflammatory status and other risk factors on cardiovascular disease development.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of epidemiological data correlating hsCRP levels with cardiovascular risk factors.
• Examination of the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI), age, smoking, non-HDL-cholesterol, and macrophage proportion in visceral adipose tissue.

Main Results:

• hsCRP concentrations correlate with major cardiovascular risk factors like BMI, age, and smoking.
• The proportion of pro-inflammatory macrophages in visceral adipose tissue increases with BMI, age (differentially in men and women), and non-HDL-cholesterol levels.

Conclusions:

• The inflammatory process, particularly the presence of pro-inflammatory macrophages in visceral fat, significantly contributes to atherogenesis.
• This pro-inflammatory status acts synergistically with other risk factors to promote cardiovascular disease development, highlighting a crucial area for therapeutic intervention.