Vascular proteomics

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases constitute the largest of death in developed countries, being atherosclerosis the major contributor. Atherosclerosis is a process of chronic in fl ammation, characterized by the accumulation of lipids, cells, and fi brous elements in medium and large arteries. There is a continuum in atherosclerotic cardiovascular pathology that extends from the initial endothelial damage to diseases such as angina, myocardial infarction, and stroke. The extent of in fl ammation, proteolysis, calci fi cation, and neovascularization in fl uences the development of advanced lesions (atheroma plaques) on the arteries. Plaque rupture and the ensuing thrombosis cause the acute complications of atherosclerosis, i.e., myocardial infarction and cerebral ischemia. Thus, identi fi cation of early biomarkers of plaque unstability and susceptibility to rupture is of capital importance in preventing acute events. In recent years proteomics has been successfully applied to study proteins involved in these pathological processes. Thus, proteomic studies have been carried out focusing on different elements such as vascular tissues (arteries), artery layers, cells looking at proteomes and secretomes, plasma/serum, exosomes, lipoproteins, and metabolites. This chapter will provide an overview of latest advances in proteomic studies of atherosclerosis and related vascular diseases. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.