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Nanoparticles Target Arterial Inflammation

Nanotherapeutic approach is shown to halt the growth of artery plaque cells, resulting in the fast reduction of the inflammation that may cause a heart attack.

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is a cholesterol molecule that travels within artery walls. A team from Mount Sinai School of Medicine (New York, USA) has leveraged HDL’s natural travel routes, loading it with a cholesterol-lowering medication (simvastatin) and observing it shuttled into arterial walls.  These nanoparticles, named S-HDL (simvastatin-loaded nanoparticles), appear to work by targeting inflamed immune cells (macrophages) within high-risk arterial plaques. Left untargeted, these macrophages otherwise become laden with cholesterol and start proliferating in plaques, thereby increasing inflammation. This lipid-driven inflammatory process drives atherosclerotic plaque buildup and rupture leading to a heart attack or stroke. Observing that:  “this regimen rapidly reduced and continuously suppressed plaque inflammation,” the study authors submit that: “ Our results demonstrate that pharmacologically inhibiting local macrophage proliferation can effectively treat inflammation in atherosclerosis.”

Jun Tang, Mark E. Lobatto, Laurien Hassing, Susanne van der Staay, Sarian M. van Rijs, et al.  “Inhibiting macrophage proliferation suppresses atherosclerotic plaque inflammation.”  Science Advances, 3 April 2015.

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