1. Endothelial permeability, LDL deposition, and cardiovascular risk factors—a review
- Author
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Mundi, Santa, Massaro, Marika, Scoditti, Egeria, Carluccio, Maria Annunziata, van Hinsbergh, Victor WM, Iruela-Arispe, Marial Luisa, and De Caterina, Raffaele
- Subjects
Medical Physiology ,Biomedical and Clinical Sciences ,Atherosclerosis ,Cardiovascular ,Prevention ,Genetics ,Heart Disease ,Aetiology ,2.1 Biological and endogenous factors ,Good Health and Well Being ,Animals ,Arteries ,Biological Transport ,Comorbidity ,Endothelium ,Vascular ,Humans ,Inflammation Mediators ,Lipoproteins ,LDL ,Oxidative Stress ,Permeability ,Plaque ,Atherosclerotic ,Prognosis ,Reactive Oxygen Species ,Risk Factors ,Signal Transduction ,Smoking ,Cardiovascular risk factors ,Endothelium ,Vascular permeability ,Cardiorespiratory Medicine and Haematology ,Cardiovascular System & Hematology ,Cardiovascular medicine and haematology - Abstract
Early atherosclerosis features functional and structural changes in the endothelial barrier function that affect the traffic of molecules and solutes between the vessel lumen and the vascular wall. Such changes are mechanistically related to the development of atherosclerosis. Proatherogenic stimuli and cardiovascular risk factors, such as dyslipidaemias, diabetes, obesity, and smoking, all increase endothelial permeability sharing a common signalling denominator: an imbalance in the production/disposal of reactive oxygen species (ROS), broadly termed oxidative stress. Mostly as a consequence of the activation of enzymatic systems leading to ROS overproduction, proatherogenic factors lead to a pro-inflammatory status that translates in changes in gene expression and functional rearrangements, including changes in the transendothelial transport of molecules, leading to the deposition of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and the subsequent infiltration of circulating leucocytes in the intima. In this review, we focus on such early changes in atherogenesis and on the concept that proatherogenic stimuli and risk factors for cardiovascular disease, by altering the endothelial barrier properties, co-ordinately trigger the accumulation of LDL in the intima and ultimately plaque formation.
- Published
- 2018