A team of Taiwanese researchers has proposed a new biomarker that could help diagnose or treat atherosclerosis, the development of abnormalities in artery walls that could cause narrowing due to the buildup of plaque.
The findings, published last month in the European Heart Journal, were on Tuesday presented at a news conference in Taipei by team leader Chiu Jeng-jiann (裘正健), dean of Taipei Medical University’s College of Medical Science and Technology.
Chiu said that atherosclerosis is a chronic condition that develops as a result of inflammation, most commonly in areas where arteries curve or branch out, and blood flow is more “complex.”
Photo: CNA
Disturbances in blood flow in these areas can make the inner linings of blood vessels more prone to narrowing because of plaque buildup, through a process known as oscillatory shear stress, Chiu said.
Since 2013, Chiu has been investigating the effects of disturbed blood flow on the signaling networks of phosphoproteins — proteins bound to a phosphate group — in blood vessels, to understand the mechanism by which plaque buildup occurs.
The team examined clinical specimens and transgenic mice, and performed a comparative analysis of regions in pig aortas that were susceptible or resistant to atherosclerosis.
Using the comparative analysis method the team identified a protein, vinculin (VCL), in which disturbed blood flow induced the attachment of a phosphate group in a position called serine 721 — a process abbreviated as VCLS721p, Chiu said.
The team also found the enzyme that mediated the process, which increases the permeability of the inside of affected blood vessels, allowing for the buildup of plaque, he said.
Currently, doctors rely on medical imaging of blood flow in the arteries and ultrasounds to diagnose atherosclerosis, but are unable to do so solely through a blood test, he said.
The research team hopes its findings would change that, he added.
The discovery that VCLS721p levels in serum from blood samples are “highly correlated” with atherosclerosis progression means that VCLS721p could be used as a biomarker to diagnose the disease, Chiu said.
The study also found that lipid-lowering medications can help reduce VCLS721p levels in people with coronary artery disease, which could help the development of new therapies, Chiu said.
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