Inflammatory and Autoimmune Reactions in Atherosclerosis and Vaccine Design Informatics

Abstract

Atherosclerosis is the leading pathological contributor to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality worldwide. As its complex pathogenesis has been gradually unwoven, the regime of treatments and therapies has increased with still much ground to cover. Active research in the past decade has attempted to develop antiatherosclerosis vaccines with some positive results. Nevertheless, it remains to develop a vaccine against atherosclerosis with high affinity, specificity, efficiency, and minimal undesirable pathology. In this review, we explore vaccine development against atherosclerosis by interpolating a number of novel findings in the fields of vascular biology, immunology, and bioinformatics. With recent technological breakthroughs, vaccine development affords precision in specifying the nature of the desired immune response—useful when addressing a disease as complex as atherosclerosis with a manifold of inflammatory and autoimmune components. Moreover, our exploration of available bioinformatic tools for epitope-based vaccine design provides a method to avoid expenditure of excess time or resources.

Evaluation of the effect of flavangenol on serum lipid peroxide levels and development of atherosclerosis in spontaneously hyperlipidemic B6.KOR-Apoeshl mice

“…Lipid peroxidation, such as production of oxidative LDL-cholesterol, may occur under the conditions of hyperlipidemia, and oxidized substances, such as oxidized LDL-cholesterol, trigger inflammatory actions on endothelial cells and macrophages, and accelerate the progression of atherosclerosis (24). Of note, flavangenol administration significantly reduced the level of lipid peroxidation measured as TBARS, which is routinely assayed for the oxidative modification of LDL.…”

Microdomains, Inflammation, and Atherosclerosis

“…149, 150 Remarkable advances have enhanced our understanding of how innate immunity informs adaptive responses in atherosclerosis. 151 For example, accelerated atherosclerosis is observed in individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a chronic autoimmune disease with a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations.…”

Endothelial progenitor cells in atherosclerosis

“…Oxidized low density lipoprotein (oxLDL) is one of the most important causative factors of cardiovascular disease (195, 196). OxLDL decreases EPC survival and impairs its adhesive, migratory, and tube formation capacities in a dose-dependent manner (197).…”