Extracellular Matrix in Atherosclerosis: Hyaluronan and Proteoglycans Insights.
BACKGROUND
Atherosclerosis, a chronic inflammatory disease of the blood vessel wall, is the most common cause of cardiovascular pathologies. Hyaluronan, the major polysaccharide involved in this process, plays a pivotal role acting as a modulator of all inflammatory stages, affecting the behavior of both endothelial and smooth muscle cells.


OBJECTIVE
The inflammatory condition is the main reason of the increased deposition of extracellular matrix, that in turn, traps lipoproteins and inflammatory/growth factors from the circulation within the vessel wall and thicken the arterial wall. Therefore, this chronic condition that continuously affects the arterial walls in a specific area causes a severe remodeling of the tissue architecture and a drastic change in the resident cell behavior.


METHODS
Because of the great complexity of the extracellular matrix in the arterial wall, we investigate the modification in the different layers of the vessels with a particular attention to hyaluronan and proteoglycans and to the events that affects their normal turnover.


RESULTS
Hyaluronan, the major polysaccharide involved in this process, plays a pivotal role acting as a modulator of all inflammatory stages, affecting the behavior of both endothelial and smooth muscle cells. Moreover, glycosaminoglycans and proteoglycans had been shown to change during the lesion progression, and to possess the chemical features essential for lipid retention, immune system activation, smooth cells proliferation and macrophages recruitment.


CONCLUSIONS
The ECM characteristics should be investigated in order to understand their prevention potentials as well as their negative impact on the onset of the disease.
Manuela
M
Viola
Evgenia
E
Karousou
Maria Luisa
ML
D'Angelo
Paola
P
Moretto
Ilaria
I
Caon
Giancarlo De
G
Luca
Alberto
A
Passi
Dipartimento di Scienze Chirurgiche e Morfologiche, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, via J. H. Dunant 5, 21100 Varese, Italy. davide.vigetti@uninsubria.it.
Davide
D
Vigetti
D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000378:metabolism; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors / Q000378:metabolism; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D007249:Inflammation; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL / Q000378:metabolism; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D011509:Proteoglycans / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D017539:Tunica Intima / Q000378:metabolism
C497483:CD44 protein, human; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL; D011509:Proteoglycans; C099252:oxidized low density lipoprotein; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid