Macrophage-derived matrix vesicles: an alternative novel mechanism for microcalcification in atherosclerotic plaques.

An Alternative Novel Mechanism for Microcalcification in Atherosclerotic Plaques

Has our understanding of calcification in human coronary atherosclerosis progressed?

Coronary artery calcification is a well-established predictor of future cardiac events; however, it is not a predictor of unstable plaque. The intimal calcification of the atherosclerotic plaques may begin with smooth muscle cell apoptosis and release of matrix vesicles and is almost always seen microscopically in pathological intimal thickening, which appears as microcalcification (≥0.5 μm, ty...

Sortilin mediates vascular calcification via its recruitment into extracellular vesicles.

Vascular calcification is a common feature of major cardiovascular diseases. Extracellular vesicles participate in the formation of microcalcifications that are implicated in atherosclerotic plaque rupture; however, the mechanisms that regulate formation of calcifying extracellular vesicles remain obscure. Here, we have demonstrated that sortilin is a key regulator of smooth muscle cell (SMC) c...

DETECTION AND RESTRICTION ANALYSIS OF C YTOMEGALOVIRUS DNA PERSISTING IN HUMAN ATHEROSCLEROTIC PLAQUES USING POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as applied to detection of a foreign DNA in clinical specimens could provide a sensitive instrument for rapid detection of viral DNA persisting in tissues of patients suspected of latent infection. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) DNA was found in arterial plaques of patients with atherosclerotic lesions using a PCR assay with nested primer oligonucleotides ...

Genesis and growth of extracellular vesicle-derived microcalcification in atherosclerotic plaques

Clinical evidence links arterial calcification and cardiovascular risk. Finite-element modelling of the stress distribution within atherosclerotic plaques has suggested that subcellular microcalcifications in the fibrous cap may promote material failure of the plaque, but that large calcifications can stabilize it. Yet the physicochemical mechanisms underlying such mineral formation and growth ...