| First Author | Lewis RD | Year | 2010 |
| Journal | Mol Immunol | Volume | 47 |
| Issue | 5 | Pages | 1098-105 |
| PubMed ID | 19959238 | Mgi Jnum | J:158457 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:4438822 | Doi | 10.1016/j.molimm.2009.10.035 |
| Citation | Lewis RD, et al. (2010) The membrane attack complex of complement drives the progression of atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E knockout mice. Mol Immunol 47(5):1098-105 |
| abstractText | AIMS: To examine the roles of the membrane attack complex of complement and its sole membrane regulator, CD59, in atherosclerosis. METHODS: C6 (C6(-/-)) deficient and CD59a (Cd59a(-/-)) knockout mice were separately crossed onto the apolipoprotein E knockout (apoE(-/-)) background. The double knockout mice were fed high-fat diet in order to study the effects of absence of C6 or CD59a on the progression of atherosclerosis. RESULTS: C6 deficiency significantly reduced plaque area and disease severity. CD59a had the opposite effect in that deficiency was associated with a significant increase in plaque area, correlating with increased membrane attack complex (MAC) deposition in the plaque and increased smooth muscle cell proliferation in early plaques. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that the MAC contributes to the development of atherosclerosis, C6 deficiency being protective and CD59a deficiency exacerbating disease. |
