Clonally expanding smooth muscle cells promote atherosclerosis by escaping efferocytosis and activating the complement cascade [Medical Sciences]

Atherosclerosis is the process underlying heart attack and stroke. Despite decades of research, its pathogenesis remains unclear. Dogma suggests that atherosclerotic plaques expand primarily via the accumulation of cholesterol and inflammatory cells. However, recent evidence suggests that a substantial portion of the plaque may arise from a subset of “dedifferentiated”...

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - July 6, 2020 Category: Science Authors: Ying Wang, Vivek Nanda, Daniel Direnzo, Jianqin Ye, Sophia Xiao, Yoko Koȷima, Kathryn L. Howe, Kai–Uwe Jarr, Alyssa M. Flores, Pavlos Tsantilas, Noah Tsao, Abhiram Rao, Alexandra A. C. Newman, Anne V. Eberhard, James R. Priest, Arno Ruusalepp Tags: Biological Sciences Source Type: research