Title:Oxidized Haemoglobin–Driven Endothelial Dysfunction and Immune Cell Activation: Novel Therapeutic Targets for Atherosclerosis
VOLUME: 20 ISSUE: 37
Author(s):Brigitta Buttari, Elisabetta Profumo, Rita Businaro, Luciano Saso, Raffaele Capoano, Bruno Salvati and Rachele Riganò
Affiliation:Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
Keywords:Adaptive immunity, atherosclerosis, CD163, endothelial cells, haptoglobin, innate immunity, oxidized haemoglobin,
therapeutic perspectives.
Abstract:Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the arterial wall characterized by endothelial dysfunction,
and in which innate and adaptive immune responses have a crucial role. Autoimmune reactions against several self molecules
and modified self molecules have been identified in patients with atherosclerotic disease. Oxidative stress, increasingly
reported in these patients is the major event causing protein structural modifications, thus inducing the appearance of
neo/cryptic epitopes. Following intraplaque haemorrhage large amounts of cell-free haemoglobin (Hb) accumulate within
atheroma, due to its impaired clearance by the haptoglobin-CD163 scavenging system. The pro-oxidative intraplaque microenvironment
may induce Hb structural changes, thus generating neo/cryptic autoantigenic epitopes and rendering the
oxidized self molecule as a dangerous signal for both immune and endothelial cells. In this review, we will present the
most relevant information on Hb as a candidate self antigen involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic disease and on
its ability to trigger signals that drive endothelial dysfunction and immune cell activation. On these grounds, we will also
discuss how these new paradigms may lead to novel therapeutic targets for cardiovascular diseases.
