PBL 5 - Coronary Heart Disease Flashcards
what is atherosclerosis?
= a chronic inflammatory process triggered by the accumulation of cholesterol-containing LDL particles in the arterial wall
= plaque formation; the build up of gruel-like substances such as fats and cholesterol in our artery walls which can restrict or block the blood flow
what is ischaemia?
lack of oxygen due to restriction of blood supply
what are 2 non-modifiable risk factors for myocardial infarction?
- age
- gender
MI is not common in what ages for each gender?
men < 40
women < menopause
name 2 modifiable risk factors for MI
- smoking
2. dyslipidaemia = high level of total cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is associated worth increased risk of CAD
what conditions can predispose you to a higher CAD risk?
- hypertension
- diabetes mellitus
- psychosocial factors
- excess adiposity and metabolic syndrome
what 2 things are recommend to people with a BP over 120/80mmHg?
- decrease salt intake
- weight loss
why does diabetes increase risk of CAD?
- tend to have a higher BP
- dyslipidaemia
- increase glucose levels
- inflammatory markers
what are hydrophobic fact molecules (eg. triglycerides and cholesterol) transported to all cells and tissues of the body in?
lipoprotein particles
describe lipoprotein particle structure
- triglyceride and cholesterol centre
- surrounded by a phospholipid outer shell
- apolipoprotein is embedded in the outer shell
what is the function of apolipoprotein in lipoprotein particles?
- stabilise the complex
- give it a functional identity
what are the 2 main types of lipoprotein and how do they influence risk of CAD?
- bad LDL = increases risk
2. good HDL = decreases risk
what apolipoprotein is embedded in LDL?
apolipoprotein B (ApopB) = ApopB100
what apolipoprotein is embedded in HDL?
apolipoprotein A1 (ApopA1)
what can take LDL in circulation to the artery wall across endothelial cells?
scavenger receptors
at the artery wall, what happens to LDL? what does this lead to?
taken by macrophages to become foam cells, leading to plaque formation
what does HDL do?
transports the cholesterol back to liver through reverse cholesterol transport (RCT)
what is cholesterol converted to for the ease of transporting via reverse cholesterol transport?
cholesteryl ester
what happens to cholesterol in the liver?
excreted through the biliary route
what is resveratrol?
a polyphenolic compound in red wine/grapes known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory products
at a particular single nucleotide morphism (SNP) what do CAD patients show?
tend to have C instead of T
what does a high peak on a Manhattan Plot tell us?
high peak = high significance of the genomic region
in GWAS for CAD, a high peak was always found on what chromosome location?
chromosome 9 but not on any gene — Gp21 (named by location)
what is shown without the Gp21 region?
proliferation and senescence of aortic smooth muscle cells are increased — both characteristics of smooth muscle cells in CAD
non-coding regions in the genome can modulate gene expression by acting as what?
regulatory elements
name the different layers of a normal blood vessel
what type of endothelium lines blood vessels?
simple squamous epithelial cells
what does the intima contain?
collagen and proteoglycans
what does the media layer contain?
smooth muscle cells and elastic fibres
what does the adventitia layer contain?
thick collagenous and elastic tissue
where does atherosclerosis tend to occur?
where the artery bifurcates and when the calibre of the artery changes
why is atherosclerosis more prone to occur in birfurcation or calibre changes hotspots?
turbulent flow can happen and cause local recirculating an increase of local concentration of plasma LDL
- frictional force (due to disturbed flow)
- endothelial injury
what is the first stage of atherosclerosis?
infiltration of ApopB-containing LDL in the arterial wall
describe the first stage of atherosclerosis
- LDL transports into the arterial wall and is retained by proteoglycans (in intima)
- disturbed flow creates frictional force on endothelial cells so pro-inflammatory activation
- endothelial dysfunction (due to frictional injury and pro-inflammatory activation) leads to increased influx of cholesterol-containing lipoprotein into the arterial intima
- endothelial cells lose its function as a barrier — more influx of cholesterol-containing lipoprotein