Atherosclerosis is a multifactorial disease of the large arteries and the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in industrialized countries. There is ample evidence that hypercholesterolemia (i... Show moreAtherosclerosis is a multifactorial disease of the large arteries and the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in industrialized countries. There is ample evidence that hypercholesterolemia (i.e. elevated plasma levels apo-B-containing lipoproteins) is a major causative factor in atherogenesis. It is equally clear that atherogenesis has an inflammatory component which is thought to drive the progression of the disease. However, while the lipid component in atherosclerosis development is relatively well-understood, the origin and exact contribution of the inflammatory component remains largely unknown. The aim of this thesis is to further define and delineate the contribution of the inflammatory component to the atherosclerotic process and to elucidate the link between cholesterol and inflammation in atherosclerotic lesion formation and progression. The studies of this thesis show that, besides plasma cholesterol, inflammation contributes to a substantial extent to atherogenesis. Intervention strategies directed at lowering apoB-containing lipoproteins and reducing inflammation may therefore be more effective than current lipid-lowering strategies. Direct experimental evidence for this assumption mainly comes from animal experiments as described in this thesis. Human intervention studies are necessary to evaluate whether these findings can also be translated to the human situation. Show less
In this thesis we focus on atherosclerosis as the main cause of cardiovascular disease. Since inflammation and cell death are important processes in the onset and progression of atherosclerosis, we... Show moreIn this thesis we focus on atherosclerosis as the main cause of cardiovascular disease. Since inflammation and cell death are important processes in the onset and progression of atherosclerosis, we investigate the role of several genes involved in inflammation and cell death in the vessel wall and their effect on atherosclerosis. We use several ways to modulate gene expression. Examples from different chapters are whole body deletion of TNF (2), local gene targeting of Fas Ligand to the cap of the plaque (3), conditional gene targeting of mdm2, thereby upregulating p53 (4), and beta-galactosidase (5), and pharmacological targeting of PPARs (6). In this thesis we use various mouse models of atherosclerosis, such as the apoE deficient mouse, the "humanized" apoE3*Leiden mouse and accelerated atherosclerosis induced by collar placement. Show less
