Drs José Martínez-González and Cristina Rodríguez of the Sant Pau IIB Research Group “Regulatory mechanisms for cardiovascular remodelling”, have taken part in a work developed in collaboration with the National Cardiovascular Research Centre (CNIC), recently published in the prestigious journal Circulation. The researchers, integrated to the CIBER of cardiovascular malalties (CIBERCV), have observed that the expression of the CD69 molecule in blood cells, predicted the development of subclinical atherosclerosis (without symptoms) in an independent way to other classic cardiovascular risk factors.
The most frequent is that arteriosclerotic malady – characterized by the presence of lipid substances in the walls of the arteries – is detected in advanced stages, which has already caused clinical events such as myocardial infarction, stroke or others. The treatment of these types of pathologies, which have already donated symptoms, is limited because in a high percentage of the affected individuals, their quality of life is reduced and because of the combination of the sanitary system, it supposes a high economic cost.
We know that the immune response to inflammation plays an essential role in the genesis and progression of atherosclerotic malady, triggering myocardial infarction and stroke, explains Francisco Sánchez-Madrid, from the Hospital Universitari de la Princesa. “However, the relationship between the lipid metabolism and the immune response – affegeix – is not well defined. Although the classic hypothesis is that low-density lipoproteins (LDLox) induce the recruitment of inflammatory immune cells and their accumulation in atheroma plaques, there is also evidence that cells and teixits can respond to these lipoproteins by inhibiting proinflammatory signals.
The study identifies the CD69 molecule as the first receptor for lipoprotein oxidations in T lymphocytes that contributes to the control of inflammation, preventing the development of atherosclerosis. “The binding of LDLox to the CD69 receptor confers on both humans and humans a protective anti-inflammatory function against the development of atherosclerosis,” asserts Pilar Martín. For this research, the deficient mouse model for the CD69 gene was undertaken as part of a project funded by the Fundació La Marató de TV3 and the CIBERCV, in close collaboration with the José Martínez González group of the Barcelona Institute for Biomedical Research, IIB-Sant Pau.
Estudi PESA
The relevance and clinical application of this study has been shown by analyzing the CD69 receptor in blood lymphocytes obtained from 305 participants of the PESA project (Progression of Early Subclinical Atherosclerosis), a prospective study that uses advanced imaging techniques to detect the presence of atheromatous plaque in singles. Specifically, this part of the collaborative study has been carried out with the researchers of the PESA project, Valentí Fuster and Borja Ibáñez, together with the units of Bioinformatics, Genomics and Proteomics of the CNIC which are directed, respectively, by Fátima Sánchez-Cap, Ana Dopazo and Jesús Vázquez. The PESA-CNIC-Santander, directed by Dr. Fuster, included more than 4,000 participants in the inter-mediate edition and evaluates the presence and development of subclinical atherosclerosis.
The results show that the expression of CD69 in blood lymphocytes is inversely correlated with the presence and extent of subclinical atherosclerosis. It is important not to forget that cardiovascular malady is the first cause of death in the world. Because the development of effective prevention strategies is a priority given the high prevalence of cardiovascular malalties in the world.
Tsilingiri, K., de la Font, H., Relaño, M., Sanchez-Diaz, R., Rodriguez, C., Crespo, J.,. . . Sánchez-Madrid, F. (2018). oxLDL Receptor in Lymphocytes Prevents Atherosclerosis and Predicts Subclinical Disease. Circulation. doi: 10.1161 / circulationaha.118.034326
