Atherosclerosis is a common cardiovascular disease with increasing morbidity and mortality. The pathogenesis of atherosclerosis is strongly related to endothelial dysfunction, which is induced by severe oxidative stress damage derived from reactive oxygen species (ROS). Thus, ROS plays a critical role in the pathogenesis and progression of atherosclerosis. In this work, we demonstrated that the gadolinium doping of CeO2 (Gd/CeO2) nanozymes as effective ROS scavengers delivered high performance for antiatherosclerosis. It was found that the chemical doping of Gd promoted the surface proportion of Ce3+ in the nanozymes and thereby enhanced the overall ROS scavenging ability. In vitro and in vivo experiments unambiguously showed that the Gd/CeO2 nanozymes efficiently scavenged harmful ROS at the cellular and histological levels. Further, Gd/CeO2 nanozymes were demonstrated to significantly reduce vascular lesions by reducing lipid accumulation in macrophage and decreasing inflammatory factor levels, thereby inhibiting the exacerbation of atherosclerosis. Moreover, Gd/CeO2 can serve as T 1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents, which can generate sufficient contrast to distinguish the location of plaque during living imaging. Through those efforts, Gd/CeO2 may serve as a potential diagnostic and treatment nanomedicine for the ROS-induced atherosclerosis.

Background and Aims. Bile acids, the key products for elimination of cholesterol, play an important role in coronary artery disease (CAD). However, few studies focused on the roles of more accessible serum total bile acids (TBA) in the prediction of adverse cardiovascular events for coronary chronic artery occlusion (CTO). The aim of this study was to explore the potential relationship between serum TBA and long-term prognosis in patients with CTO undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods. Baseline TBA was determined in 613 patients with CTO after PCI in the present study. All patients were divided into 3 groups according to the median (3.5 μmol/l) and the normal upper limit of the TBA (10 μmol/l). The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality, and the secondary endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Results. Average age in this study was 65.44 ± 9.94 years old. The median of TBA was 3.5 (2.1-6.1) μmol/l. Over a median follow-up of 33.5 months, compared to those with below 3.5 μmol/l TBA, 3.5 ~ 10 μmol/l TBA was associated with significantly reduced risk for the MACE (hazard ratio (HR): 0.59, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.40 to 0.88; p = 0.009 ) even after adjustment for baseline variables. However, TBA did not predict all-cause mortality and cardiovascular death. Spline analyses showed an L-shaped relationship of the serum TBA with the incidence of MACE. Conclusions. Moderate fasting serum TBA level has a predictive value for MACE even after adjusting for lifestyle and clinical risk factors in CTO patients undergoing PCI.