Lecture 37: Pathogenesis of Atherosclerosis Flashcards
What is atherosclerosis?
Arterial INTIMAL disease of large-medium arteries characterized by lipid accumulation and inflammation
Space between endothelium and smooth muscle cell layer
Driven by lipid antigens and lipids
What is the time course of atherosclerosis?
Chronic Progressive Disease
Acute clinical manifestations
20 yo can have atherosclerosis present but doesn’t present until later on in life
What is the natural history of atherosclerosis?
- Fatty streaks
- Lipid rich
- Internal rupture that leads to accumulation of WBCs and RBCs
- Formation of calcified shell over lipid rich plaque
- formation of a SCAR, fibrous cap, calcified plaque
- Vulnerable to rupture if plaque is thin
- Rupture of fibrous cap
- After rupture, you get thrombus (platelets and fibrin come by to clot the rupture0
- Myocardial infarction if platelet and fibrin occludes the artery
- Obstructive where lipid/fibrin/SMC accumulation is so much that it obstructs the arteries
What is the first indication of atherosclerosis?
Fatty streaks
What are the clinical consequences of atherosclerosis?
- Coronary heart disease
- MI
- sudden death/heart failure
- Cerebro vascular disease like stroke and vascular dementia
- Peripheral artery disease
- Renal artery stenosis
What are the steps towards thrombosis and plaque rupture in atherosclerosis?
- Enothelial inflammation and dysfunction
- Oxidized modified lipoproteins
- Monocytes, macrophages, foam cells, T-cells
- Paracrine and endocrine signals
- Smooth muscle cells (ECM)
- Matrix proteolysis (MMPs/TIMPs) (plaque rupture
- Platelets driven thrombosis
How do monocytes contribute to atherosclerosis?
They differentiate into inflammatory macrophage once it travels to activated endothelium
Macrophages take up modified lipoproteins to form foam cells
How do SMCs contribute to atherosclerosis?
Migrate into intimal space and secrete ECM
Contributes to the BULK of the atherosclerotic lesion
Provides framework for cellular interactions
SMCs form the FIBROUS cap over the inflammatory sub-endothelial intimal lesion
As plaque evolves, it outgrows nutrient supply and induces neovascularization of the plaque from advential surface of disease vessel
How does MMPs and TIMPs contribute to atherosclerosis?
MMPs degrade the protective cap
The TIMPs are downregulated and thus cant inhibit MMP activity
Degradation of cap = more likely to rupture
What are the factors that leads to endothelial injury and dysfunction?
- Shear stress (HTN)
- Oxidant stress (smoking)
- diet and physical inactivity
- excess and modified lipoproteins
- diabetes (glycation)
- Adipocytokines (endocrine and paracrine)
- Infection (CMV, HSV, Chlamydia, gut flora)
- Genes can lead to injury susceptibility
What are the consequences of mechanosignal transduction and hypercholesterolemia for the endothelium?
They induce endothelial cell dysfunction that promotes inflammation and fatty streak formation
Occurs in the intimal stage
Turbulent flow is more likely during a state of HTN
What does turbulent flow do the endothelium?
Activates ICAM-1 and VCAM receptors
Leads to growth factors and chemokine secretion
Recruits monocytes into the vascular wall (via selectins and integrin ligands)
Monocytes then differentiate into inflamed macrophages that will turn into foam cells once it takes up oxidized LDL
What are the hallmarks of dysfunctional endothelium?
- increase of superoxide and peroxynitrite
- Increased adhesion molecules and cytokines
- reduced NO and prostacyclin
- Reduced endothelium dependent vasodilation
What are the endothelial adhesion molecules?
- VCAM-1
- ICAM-1
- E-selectin
What is responsible for chemotaxis of monocytes?
- CCR2/MCP-1 receptor/chemokine
- CX3CR1/CX3CL1
- CCR5/CCL5
What is the significance of lipid entry into vascular wall?
As VLDL and LDL migrates through endothelium
Gets MODIFIED
-oxidized by iNOS, NADPH, 15-LO
-or acetylated
Activates macrophages which lead to inflammation
Oxidation/aggregation of modified lipids
What is the first step in atherosclerosis?
- infiltration of LDL from arterial lumen into the arterial wall and its entrapment therein
- Modification of LDL through
i. oxidation
ii. chemical derivation - Scavenger receptors on arterial wall macrophages recognized MOFIDIFIED LDL and internalize oxidized LDL through engulfment
- Uptake of LDL by macrophages leads to foam cell formation, the HALLMARK of the atherosclerotic lesion