Athlerosclerosis

ATHEROSCLEROSIS

Working in collaboration with LJI Professor Klaus Ley, the Sette Lab aims to help develop vaccines that target inflammatory factors as a means to reduce atherosclerotic plaque formation. The researchers have identified several peptides suitable for vaccinating humans. The aim is to test those in mice engineered to harbor a humanized immune system. Their current goal is to enter phase I clinical trials. If successful, this achievement would constitute the worlds’ first vaccine for heart disease.

Selected References

Kimura T, Tse K, McArdle S, Gerhardt T, Miller J, Mikulski Z, Sidney J, Sette A, Wolf D, Ley K. Atheroprotective vaccination with MHC-II-restricted ApoB peptides induces peritoneal IL-10-producing CD4 T cells. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2017 Apr 1;312(4):H781-H790. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00798.2016. Epub 2017 Jan 13. PMID: 28087520; PMCID: PMC5407161.

Kimura T, Kobiyama K, Winkels H, Tse K, Miller J, Vassallo M, Wolf D, Ryden C, Orecchioni M, Dileepan T, Jenkins MK, James EA, Kwok WW, Hanna DB, Kaplan RC, Strickler HD, Durkin HG, Kassaye SG, Karim R, Tien PC, Landay AL, Gange SJ, Sidney J, Sette A, Ley K. Regulatory CD4+ T Cells Recognize Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II Molecule-Restricted Peptide Epitopes of Apolipoprotein B. Circulation. 2018 Sep 11;138(11):1130-1143. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.031420. PMID: 29588316; PMCID: PMC6160361.

Wolf D, Gerhardt T, Winkels H, Michel NA, Pramod AB, Ghosheh Y, Brunel S, Buscher K, Miller J, McArdle S, Baas L, Kobiyama K, Vassallo M, Ehinger E, Dileepan T, Ali A, Schell M, Mikulski Z, Sidler D, Kimura T, Sheng X, Horstmann H, Hansen S, Mitre LS, Stachon P, Hilgendorf I, Gaddis DE, Hedrick C, Benedict CA, Peters B, Zirlik A, Sette A, Ley K. Pathogenic Autoimmunity in Atherosclerosis Evolves From Initially Protective Apolipoprotein B100-Reactive CD4+ T-Regulatory Cells. Circulation. 2020 Sep 29;142(13):1279-1293. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.119.042863. Epub 2020 Jul 24. PMID: 32703007; PMCID: PMC7515473.

About La Jolla Institute

The La Jolla Institute for Immunology is dedicated to understanding the intricacies and power of the immune system so that we may apply that knowledge to promote human health and prevent a wide range of diseases. Since its founding in 1988 as an independent, nonprofit research organization, the Institute has made numerous advances leading toward its goal: life without disease. Visit lji.org for more information.

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