Atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases remain the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Cholesterol crystals in atherosclerotic plaques play an essential role in atherosclerosis progression. However, no clinical drugs have been used for removing cholesterol crystals from plaque to counter atherosclerosis. Previous studies identified the hydrophobic domain of lipid bilayer in liposomes acted as sinks for solubilizing hydrophobic cholesterol. Moreover, adjusting the composition of the lipid bilayer in liposomes can enhance its hydrophobic molecule loading capacity. Therefore, in this study, ginsenosides Rb1 (Rb1), one of main active components of ginseng which has a similar structure to cholesterol, is anchored into soy phospholipids bilayer with its hydrophobic region to prepare nano-sponge-like liposomes (Rb1-LPs), aiming to amplify the solubilization of cholesterol in lipid bilayer. For targeting delivery to atherosclerotic plaques, Annexin V (AnxV), a protein that can specifically recognize phosphatidylserine upregulated in atherosclerotic plaques, is applied to decorate the surface of Rb1-LPs by click reaction to obtain the final preparation of AnxV-Rb1-LPs. The in vitro studies showed that incorporating Rb1 into lipid bilayer remarkably increased the affinity of the lipid bilayer to free cholesterol and the solubilization of cholesterol crystals. Additionally, nano-sponge-like liposomes could efficiently reduce the accumulation of cholesterol crystals and improve cholesterol efflux, finally inhibiting inflammation and apoptosis in cholesterol-laden cells. Furthermore, AnxV-Rb1-LPs could efficiently accumulate in atherosclerotic plaques after intravenous injection, exert nano-sponge-like functions to remove intra- and extracellular cholesterol crystals, ultimately alleviating inflammation and apoptosis in atherosclerotic plaques for antiatherosclerosis. Therefore, AnxV-Rb1-LPs provide a potential strategy for removing cholesterol crystals in atherosclerotic plaques and can be further utilized in other diseases with excessive cholesterol accumulation.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2022.07.021 | DOI Listing |
Front Parasitol
January 2025
World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and National Reference Laboratory for Echinococcosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico della Sardegna, Sassari, Italy.
Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a zoonotic disease caused by sensu lato, the metacestode of a tapeworm parasite of high medical importance. Infection of the parasite leads to the development of echinococcal cysts, and the spleen is a rarely infected organ. A 46-year-old woman who was born and who resides in Sardinia, Italy, was referred to the Echinococcosis outpatient clinic at the University Hospital of Sassari (Sardinia, Italy) for a pain in the left flank.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBioengineering (Basel)
January 2025
Department of Ultrasound, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai 200120, China.
Background: Cholesterol gallstone disease (CGS) is often accompanied by gallbladder contraction dysfunction and chronic inflammation, but effective therapeutic options remain limited. This study investigates whether a low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) treatment can improve gallbladder motility and alleviate chronic inflammation while exploring the underlying mechanisms.
Methods: Gallbladder motility was assessed through in vitro and in vivo contraction tests, while bile condition was evaluated by observing bile crystal clearance.
J Atheroscler Thromb
January 2025
Division of Inflammation Research, Center for Molecular Medicine, Jichi Medical University.
The deposition of cholesterol containing cholesterol crystals and the infiltration of immune cells are features of atherosclerosis. Although the role of cholesterol crystals in the progression of atherosclerosis have long remained unclear, recent studies have clarified the involvement of cholesterol crystals in inflammatory responses. Cholesterol crystals activate the NLRP3 inflammasome, a molecular complex involved in the innate immune system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Cardiol
January 2025
Department of Cardiology, The 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150086, China; The Key Laboratory of Myocardial Ischemia, Chinese Ministry of Education, Harbin, China, Harbin 150086, China. Electronic address:
Background: The impact of glycemic control on the morphological characteristics of non-culprit lesions (NCLs) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remains unclear.
Methods And Results: A total of 800 AMI patients who underwent 3-vessel OCT were divided into three groups based on their serum glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels: poorly controlled diabetes mellitus (DM) (HbA1c ≥8.0 %, n = 79), well controlled DM (6.
Langmuir
January 2025
School of Chemical Engineering and Translational Nanobioscience Research Center, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea.
Alkylphospholipids are single-chain lipid amphiphiles that possess clinically relevant biological activities driven by membrane-destabilizing interactions. Subtle variations in alkylphospholipid structure can lead to significant differences in their biological effects, yet corresponding membrane interactions remain underexplored. Herein, we employed the quartz crystal microbalance-dissipation (QCM-D) technique to characterize the real-time membrane interactions of three alkylphospholipids-edelfosine, miltefosine, and perifosine-on supported lipid bilayers with varying cholesterol fractions.
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