http://www.mdlinx.com/internal-medicine/top-medical-news/article/2016/04/06/14
UNC School of Medicine researchers have found a protein that appears to
protect against coronary artery disease in older people with
surprisingly clear arteries.
By studying the genetic makeup of people who maintain clear arteries
into old age, researchers have identified a possible genetic basis for
the disease, as well as potential new opportunities to prevent it. “We
believe that our ever–increasing population of people over 65 holds the
key to understanding CAD,” said Jonathan Schisler, PhD, assistant
professor of pharmacology at the UNC School of Medicine and member of
the UNC McAllister Heart Institute, who led the research team. “Our main
goal was to try to understand why some people develop CAD and some
people with similar risk factors do not, and we found that older people
give us a great model to understand the natural disease process.”
Schisler and his colleagues analyzed blood samples and heart scans from
143 people over age 65 who were referred to UNC Hospitals for
cardiovascular screening. The analysis revealed that people with clear
arteries had markedly higher levels of a protein called CXCL5, as well
as genetic variants near the CXCL5 gene, compared with people with more
plaque. “CXCL5 looks to be protective against CAD, and the more CXCL5
you have, the healthier your coronary arteries are,” said Schisler. “Our
findings suggest that there may be a genetic basis to CAD and that
CXCL5 may be of therapeutic interest to combat CAD in people.” Schisler
presented this research at the American Society for Investigative
Pathology’s annual meeting during Experimental Biology 2016.
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