In a new study published in the European Heart Journal, researchers at Karolinska Institutet show that genetic traits influence the cellular composition of atherosclerotic plaques, which over time will affect the risk of such lesions to cause a stroke or heart attack. The new knowledge can be used to improve the risk assessment and treatment of patients with atherosclerosis in the future. Atherosclerosis is the main cause of cardiovascular diseases such as stroke and heart attack.
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, together with colleagues at the universities of Stanford and Virginia in the USA, have now succeeded in mapping the association between genetic factors and the composition of different cell types in atherosclerotic plaques. The research was based on analyses of tissue samples from patients with atherosclerosis stored in a biobank (Biobank of Karolinska Endarterectomies, BiKE). Previous research has shown that heredity is important for the levels of cholesterol, other lipids and circulating immune cells in the blood, but now we see that heredity also affects the composition of smooth muscle cells in the blood vessels of atherosclerotic patients.
This can affect the development of atherosclerotic plaques, but also the tendency for the plaques to become unstable and cause a stroke ." Ljubica Matic, Docent, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet Using this data on heredity, the researchers have been able to categorise patients .
