Heart disease is among the biggest killers across the world, with millions battling cardiovascular situations every minute
Scientists in China have developed a potential vaccine to prevent the build-up of plaque in arteries that can cause blood clots, stroke, and heart attacks. This is also known as atherosclerosis or the buildup of fatty plaque in arteries. The eventual hardening of arteries from inflammation blocks blood flow and leads to a stroke, aneurysm, or even heart attack.
Doctors say atherosclerosis—an inflammatory disease—is mediated by the body’s innate immunity consisting of natural barriers and enzymes, as well as its adaptive systems, consisting of antibodies. These kinds of arterial blockages were earlier diagnosed through scans but are now treated with surgical procedures like angioplasty, which uses stents to prevent the blood vessels from clogging up.
Heart disease is among the biggest killers across the world, with millions battling cardiovascular situations every minute. The American Heart Association says every 34 seconds, one person dies of heart disease. So, developing a vaccine to prevent heart attack and stroke could be a revolutionary step considering it could potentially reduce mortality.
How does the new vaccine intend to work?
For long, experts have theorized that vaccination could be used to treat or prevent the disease. A new study published in the journal Nature Communications described a vaccine that can mitigate atherosclerosis development in mice.
“Our nano vaccine design and preclinical data present a potential candidate for prophylactic treatment for atherosclerosis,” scientists at Nanjing University of Science and Technology in China wrote.
In previous studies also, a digital library of various kinds of proteins has been created that protects against inflammation and boosts the body’s immune response to atherosclerosis. Among the proteins is p210, found to trigger an immune response against atherosclerosis progression, and it is what the new vaccine aims to use in humans.
The vaccine latches the p210 antigen onto tiny iron oxide nanoparticles and attaches an adjuvant—a substance used to improve the immune response of a vaccine—to a different set of nanoparticles.
The study has also reported that a mix of designs of the vaccine mitigates plaque progression and atherosclerosis development in mice that were put on a high-cholesterol diet. It worked by helping the body take up the antigen and adjuvant, which then activated the immune system’s star-shaped dendritic cells.
A cascade of changes caused by the vaccine eventually triggered the production of antibodies against p210.
“Our findings demonstrate that the two-pronged nano vaccine delivery strategy is effective against atherosclerosis,” researchers write. Scientists say they now plan to conduct further studies to understand the duration for which the nano vaccine protects the mice against atherosclerosis. However, the vaccine will not be available anytime soon as extensive testing needs to be done.
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