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Full-Text Articles in Cardiovascular Diseases
Mechanism Of Rare Variant In Acta2, P.Arg149cys, Driving Diverse Vascular Disease, Kaveeta Kaw
Mechanism Of Rare Variant In Acta2, P.Arg149cys, Driving Diverse Vascular Disease, Kaveeta Kaw
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Heterozygous variants in ACTA2 (smooth muscle (SM) α-actin) predispose to thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections (TAAD) and early-onset coronary artery disease (CAD). The most common ACTA2 mutation is a genetic alteration of arginine 149 to a cysteine, ACTA2 p.Arg149Cys, which accounts for disease in 24% of all ACTA2 mutation carriers.(1) ACTA2 p.Arg149Cys mutation carriers present with either TAAD or CAD but rarely have both diseases. To identify the molecular mechanisms dictating whether an individual with ACTA2 p.Arg149Cys develops TAAD or CAD, CRISPR/Cas9 technology was used to generate the mutant mouse, Acta2R149C/+, in a C57BL6 background. Acta2R149C/+ mice …
Autoimmune Responses To Atherosclerotic Lipids: A Study In Murine Models Of Atherosclerosis And Obesity, Hanjing Wu
Autoimmune Responses To Atherosclerotic Lipids: A Study In Murine Models Of Atherosclerosis And Obesity, Hanjing Wu
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Atherosclerosis is a chronic, complex arterial disease characterized by intimal lipid accumulation and inflammation. A unique lipid-binding molecule, namely cluster of differentiation 1d (CD1d), may impact atherosclerosis. Structurally, CD1d acts as a nonpolymorphic cell-surface receptor, resembling the major histocompatibility complex-I (MHC-I). While MHC-I restricts peptide antigen presentation to T cells, CD1d presents lipid antigens to T cells named CD1d-restrictedd T cells. Although increased expression of CD1d has been found in human plaques, the exact nature of CD1d-recognized lipids in atherosclerosis remains to be determined. Three groups of lipids may undergo oxidation in atherosclerosis producing atherogenic lipids: phospholipids, fatty acids, and …