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Orekhov et al. Atherosclerosis and related diseases
[4]
atherosclerotic lesions. Several types of atherogenic atherosclerosis. Sazonova et al. from Russia
[1]
LDL modifications have been discovered. Alipov et al. and Italy aimed to determine the threshold
from Russia and France investigated modified LDL of heteroplasmy levels of mitochondrial DNA
with reduced sialic acid content (desialylated LDL). (mtDNA) mutations for diagnosis and prognosis of
Desialylation is one of the atherogenic modifications atherosclerotic lesions’ appearance and development.
observed in circulating atherogenic LDL in vivo. The The threshold heteroplasmy levels of 11 mitochondrial
authors reviewed the available data on differences genome mutations associated with atherosclerosis
between native and desialylated LDL circulating in the were detected. The authors suggested that these
[1]
blood of patients . Desialylated LDL is small, dense markers may be used for evaluation of predisposition
and highly susceptible to oxidation. This atherogenic to atherosclerotic lesions development in humans.
modification leads to increased cholesterol intake
by macrophages and smooth muscle cells. Thus, it Plasma D-dimer, a product of plasmin fibrinolysis,
can be argued that the circulating modified LDL is is a known biomarker of coagulation. In the Letter to
[5]
susceptible to multiple modifications and is a trigger Editor, Myasoedova et al. from Italy suggested that
for atherogenesis. D-dimer levels can be helpful for diagnostic and risk
stratification of patients with both acute cardiac states
Insulin-dependent (type 1) diabetes mellitus is known and atherosclerosis. They focused on the relationship
to be associated with accelerated atherosclerosis between inflammation and hemostasis to identify
development, although the reasons for premature D-dimer biological mechanisms and its effects.
atherogenesis in diabetic patients remain obscure.
Several hypotheses exist that attempt to reveal the Five articles of the special issue are focused on
molecular, cellular and biochemical mechanisms of clinical and diagnostic questions. In dyslipidemia,
premature atherogenesis in diabetic patients, but all two main players are identified: LDL and high-density
of them possess insufficient explanatory properties. lipoprotein (HDL). The protective role of HDL against
[2]
Sobenin et al. from Russia tested a non-obvious atherosclerosis is currently well known. However,
hypothesis that insulin treatment may have a pro- the protective efficacy of HDL may be affected by
atherogenic side effect on major atherosclerotic structural and functional alterations of lipoprotein
[6]
manifestations at the cellular level, namely, on particles. Harangi et al. from Hungary aimed to
proliferative activity and intracellular cholesterol evaluate qualitative and quantitative markers of HDL
accumulation. The obtained results suggest that in dyslipidemic patients and healthy control subjects.
insulin does not exert a direct atherogenic action at Their findings highlight the importance of HDL-
the level of arterial cells, with respect to proliferative associated pro- and antioxidant enzymes, suggesting
activity and cholesterol content. the possible clinical benefit of these markers in
dyslipidemia.
Diabetes mellitus type 2 is characterized by rapid
progression of atherosclerosis. The development High blood lipid level remains a major risk factor for
of atherosclerosis is largely determined by immune many diseases atherosclerotic disease including
[7]
and inflammatory cells, primarily monocyte-derived coronary artery disease. Samaha et al. from Lebanon
macrophages. Recent studies demonstrated a and Qatar have carried out cross-sectional survey
relationship between the progression of atherosclerotic to evaluate the effects of dietary and lifestyle habits
plaque and the ratio of pro-inflammatory and anti- on several blood lipid parameters in the Lebanese
[3]
inflammatory activated macrophages. Nikiforov et al. population. They revealed that hyperlipidemia affects
from Russia and Belgium studied the ability of more than half of the Lebanese population. Prevalence
circulating monocytes from patients with diabetes, of hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia and
coronary heart disease and healthy subjects to activate high levels LDL cholesterol was higher in smokers,
into pro-inflammatory phenotype. Unexpectedly, they physically inactive individuals or those who consume
found that in patients with diabetes, monocytes were fatty meat or eggs. The authors emphasize that the
prone to pro-inflammatory stimulation to a higher majority of the individuals were unaware of their lipid
degree than monocytes from healthy individuals. At profile, which mandates concerted efforts for both
the same time, monocytes from patients with coronary patient and public education.
heart disease did not respond to stimulation. The
mechanisms of this interesting difference should be Abdominal obesity and excessive body weight are
investigated. associated with the development of atherosclerotic
cardiovascular disease and with increased risk of
Genetic diagnostics is a very promising direction sudden cardiac death, atrium fibrillation and other
[8]
for clinical use in various diseases including forms of arrhythmias. Bilovol et al. from Ukraine
164 Vessel Plus ¦ Volume 1 ¦ December 28, 2017