Journal
ARTERIOSCLEROSIS THROMBOSIS AND VASCULAR BIOLOGY
Volume 31, Issue 3, Pages 528-535Publisher
LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS
DOI: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.110.219147
Keywords
apoptosis; atherosclerosis; macrophages; metalloproteinases; pharmacology
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Funding
- British Heart Foundation [FS/07/053/24069, CH95/001]
- Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique
- National Institute for Health Research Bristol Biomedical Research Unit in Cardiovascular Medicine
- British Heart Foundation [FS/07/053/24069] Funding Source: researchfish
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Objective-Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-12 has been implicated in plaque progression and instability and is also amenable to selective inhibition. In this study, we investigated the influence of a greater than 10-fold selective synthetic MMP-12 inhibitor on plaque progression in the apolipoprotein E knockout mouse model of atherosclerosis. Methods and Results-A phosphinic peptide (RXP470.1) that is a potent, selective murine MMP-12 inhibitor significantly reduced atherosclerotic plaque cross-sectional area by approximately 50% at 4 different vascular sites in male and female apolipoprotein E knockout mice fed a Western diet. Furthermore, RXP470.1 treatment resulted in less complex plaques with increased smooth muscle cell: macrophage ratio, less macrophage apoptosis, increased cap thickness, smaller necrotic cores, and decreased incidence of calcification. Additional in vitro and in vivo findings indicate that attenuated monocyte/macrophage invasion and reduced macrophage apoptosis probably underlie the beneficial effects observed on atherosclerotic plaque progression with MMP-12 inhibitor treatment. Conclusion-Our data demonstrate that a selective MMP-12 inhibitor retards atherosclerosis development and results in a more fibrous plaque phenotype in mice. Our study provides proof of principle to motivate translational work on MMP-12 inhibitor therapy in humans. (Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2011;31:528-535.)
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