Why do fatty plaques develop unevenly throughout arteries?

Effect of multidirectional flow on endothelial cell alignment and transport of LDL-sized particles

Professor Peter Weinberg and his colleagues at Imperial College London are looking into why atherosclerosis - when arteries become furred up with fatty plaques and narrow – develops unevenly in blood vessels. Scientists believe that differences in blood flow stress on endothelial cells lining the blood vessels can cause an uneven build-up of fatty plaques. It is known that fatty plaques are created by cholesterol-carrying lipoproteins moving from the blood into the blood vessel wall. But we don’t really understand how blood flow stress influences this movement. Professor Weinberg has worked out that endothelial cells align close to the angle that minimises blood flow stress within the blood vessel, and different molecules, including LDL cholesterol, cross endothelial cells through different routes depending on the arrangement of cells. In this project, Professor Weinberg will build on this research. He will determine how large particles such as LDL cholesterol cross endothelial cells, and if this is affected by blood flow. He will also work out how endothelial cells align to minimise stresses. He will investigate whether all of these take place within the body, as well as in cells being grown in the lab. This research may explain why atherosclerotic plaque build-up happens in an uneven way throughout arteries, and may reveal new ways to prevent or treat atherosclerosis.