The First International Palestinian Conference on Nanotechnology for Advanced Material and Devices
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Browsing The First International Palestinian Conference on Nanotechnology for Advanced Material and Devices by Author "Ashraf Sawafta, PhD"
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- ItemNF-B-Dependent Prevention of Atherosclerotic Foam Cell Formation and Ves- Sel Plaque Accumulation by Fullerene-Based Nanomedicines(2012-03-26) Anthony L. Dellinger, BS; Zhiguo Zhou, PhD; Marinella Sandros, PhD; Ashraf Sawafta, PhD; Patty Elkins, MS; Christopher L. Kepley, PhD
Fullerenes are carbon spheres that have been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties. The transformation of monocytes into foam cells is an inflammatory process underlying atherosclerotic disease. We hypothesized that fullerene derivatives (FD) could inhibit the monocyte-to-foam cell transformation step involved in atherosclerosis. Fullerene derivatives inhibited the phorbol myristilic acid/oxidized low-density lipoprotein differentiation of monocytic U937 cells into foam cells as determined by lipid staining, cell adhesion, and scanning electron microscopy. Oxidized low density lipoprotein-induced generation of TNF-α, leukocyte integrin Mac-1-driven cell clumping, and CD36 receptor expression were significantly inhibited in FD treated cells com- pared to non-treated cells. For the first time it is shown that FD can dramatically reduce NF-κB expression in the oxidized low-density lipoprotein-dependent transformation of macrophages into foam cells. Apolipoprotein E knockout mice (ApoE -/-) fed a high fat diet (HFD) had dramatic inhibition of plaque formation in the blood vessels when treated with FD compared to non-treated controls. Lastly, no in vitro or in vivo toxic- ity was detected with FD; instead the FD helped reduced liver toxicity associated with the HFD. Thus, FD may be a heretofore unrecognized way to prevent atherosclerotic lesions through the inhibition of foam cell formation.