Question

‘Cardio-metabolic risk originates from storing too much fat in the wrong places’. Provide an explanation for this statement with respect to the roles of blood lipids and lipoproteins in cardio-metabolic disease

Answer 1

a) Presence of blood lipids and lipoproteins such as LDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B (apoB) 100 , in an elevated condition enhances the risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular events (ASCVE).

b) Results in macrophage inflammation which leads to enhanced oxidative stress and cytokine/chemokine secretion which ultimately increases LDL/remnant oxidation.

c)  This inflammation results in the formation of vulnerable plaques characterized by enhanced macrophage apoptosis resulting in necrotic cell death that will be finally leading to increased smooth cell death, low extracellular matrix production, and the collagen content is thus degraded by these macrophage proteases.