Cholesterol is the principal sterol of all higher animals, distributed in body tissues, especially the brain and spinal cord, and in animal fats and oils.
High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is one of the five major groups of lipoproteins. Lipoproteins are complex particles composed of multiple proteins which transport all fat molecules (lipids) around the body within the water outside cells. They are typically composed of 80–100 proteins per particle. HDL particles enlarge while circulating in the blood, aggregating more fat molecules and transporting up to hundreds of fat molecules per particle.
Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis, characterized by development of abnormalities called lesions in walls of arteries. This is a chronic inflammatory disease involving many different cell types and driven by elevated levels of cholesterol in the blood. These lesions may lead to narrowing of the arterial walls due to buildup of atheromatous plaques. At the onset there are usually no symptoms, but if they develop, symptoms generally begin around middle age. In severe cases, it can result in coronary artery disease, stroke, peripheral artery disease, or kidney disorders, depending on which body part(s) the affected arteries are located in the body.
Statins are a class of medications that lower cholesterol. They are prescribed typically to people who are at high risk of cardiovascular disease.
Hypercholesterolemia, also called high cholesterol, is the presence of high levels of cholesterol in the blood. It is a form of hyperlipidemia, hyperlipoproteinemia, and dyslipidemia.
Dyslipidemia is a metabolic disorder characterized by abnormally high or low amounts of any or all lipids or lipoproteins in the blood. Dyslipidemia is a risk factor for the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases, which include coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral artery disease. Although dyslipidemia is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, abnormal levels do not mean that lipid lowering agents need to be started. Other factors, such as comorbid conditions and lifestyle in addition to dyslipidemia, is considered in a cardiovascular risk assessment. In developed countries, most dyslipidemias are hyperlipidemias; that is, an elevation of lipids in the blood. This is often due to diet and lifestyle. Prolonged elevation of insulin resistance can also lead to dyslipidemia.
The endothelium is a single layer of squamous endothelial cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels. The endothelium forms an interface between circulating blood or lymph in the lumen and the rest of the vessel wall.
A vulnerable plaque is a kind of atheromatous plaque – a collection of white blood cells and lipids in the wall of an artery – that is particularly unstable and prone to produce sudden major problems such as a heart attack or stroke.
In vascular diseases, endothelial dysfunction is a systemic pathological state of the endothelium. The main cause of endothelial dysfunction is impaired bioavailability of nitric oxide.
Hyperlipidemia is abnormally high levels of any or all lipids or lipoproteins in the blood. The term hyperlipidemia refers to the laboratory finding itself and is also used as an umbrella term covering any of various acquired or genetic disorders that result in that finding. Hyperlipidemia represents a subset of dyslipidemia and a superset of hypercholesterolemia. Hyperlipidemia is usually chronic and requires ongoing medication to control blood lipid levels.
Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is a naturally occurring chemical found in blood plasma. It is a metabolic by-product of continual protein modification processes in the cytoplasm of all human cells. It is closely related to L-arginine, a conditionally essential amino acid. ADMA interferes with L-arginine in the production of nitric oxide (NO), a key chemical involved in normal endothelial function and, by extension, cardiovascular health.
RAGE, also called AGER, is a 35 kilodalton transmembrane receptor of the immunoglobulin super family which was first characterized in 1992 by Neeper et al. Its name comes from its ability to bind advanced glycation endproducts (AGE), which include chiefly glycoproteins, the glycans of which have been modified non-enzymatically through the Maillard reaction. In view of its inflammatory function in innate immunity and its ability to detect a class of ligands through a common structural motif, RAGE is often referred to as a pattern recognition receptor. RAGE also has at least one other agonistic ligand: high mobility group protein B1 (HMGB1). HMGB1 is an intracellular DNA-binding protein important in chromatin remodeling which can be released by necrotic cells passively, and by active secretion from macrophages, natural killer cells, and dendritic cells.
Hyperhomocysteinemia is a medical condition characterized by an abnormally high level of total homocysteine in the blood, conventionally described as above 15 μmol/L.
The liver X receptor (LXR) is a member of the nuclear receptor family of transcription factors and is closely related to nuclear receptors such as the PPARs, FXR and RXR. Liver X receptors (LXRs) are important regulators of cholesterol, fatty acid, and glucose homeostasis. LXRs were earlier classified as orphan nuclear receptors, however, upon discovery of endogenous oxysterols as ligands they were subsequently deorphanized.
Anti-cholesterol is a naturally occurring antibody to cholesterol produced by mammals. This antibody serves a ‘housekeeping’ or protective role for the host animal, helping to protect the animal from harmful forms of cholesterol such as LDL and VLDL.
Endothelial lipase (LIPG) is a form of lipase secreted by vascular endothelial cells in tissues with high metabolic rates and vascularization, such as the liver, lung, kidney, and thyroid gland. The LIPG enzyme is a vital component to many biological processes. These processes include lipoprotein metabolism, cytokine expression, and lipid composition in cells. Unlike the lipases that hydrolyze Triglycerides, endothelial lipase primarily hydrolyzes phospholipids. Due to the hydrolysis specificity, endothelial lipase contributes to multiple vital systems within the body. On the contrary to the beneficial roles that LIPG plays within the body, endothelial lipase is thought to play a potential role in cancer and inflammation. Knowledge obtained in vitro and in vivo suggest the relations to these conditions, but human interaction knowledge lacks due to the recent discovery of endothelial lipase. Endothelial lipase was first characterized in 1999. The two independent research groups which are notable for this discovery cloned the endothelial lipase gene and identified the novel lipase secreted from endothelial cells. The anti-Atherosclerosis opportunity through alleviating plaque blockage and prospective ability to raise High-density lipoprotein (HDL) have gained endothelial lipase recognition.
In the field of enzymology, a dimethylargininase, also known as a dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH), is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction:
1-Methylnicotinamide (1-MNA,trigonellamide) is a prototypic organic cation. 1-Methylnicotinamide is the methylated amide of Nicotinamide (niacinamide, vitamin B3).
The chronic endothelial injury hypothesis is one of two major mechanisms postulated to explain the underlying cause of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease (CHD), the other being the lipid hypothesis. Although an ongoing debate involving connection between dietary lipids and CHD sometimes portrays the two hypotheses as being opposed, they are in no way mutually exclusive. Moreover, since the discovery of the role of LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, the two hypotheses have become tightly linked by a number of molecular and cellular processes.
Protein detoxification is the process by which proteins containing methylated arginine are broken down and removed from the body.
