Clinical Research Directory

Assessment of GARP Expression in Acute and Chronic Coronary Syndrome

The leading cause of death is cardiovascular diseases in occidental countries. Of those, atherosclerosis is the major contributor to this burden being notably responsible for strokes and myocardial infarctions. The genesis of atherosclerosis is linked to both lipid accumulation and inflammation in the vascular wall of major arteries. One of the major pathways of inflammation is the TGF-beta axis which is at least partially regulated by the GARP protein. It has been investigated mostly in cancer biology but data in cardiovascular disease is lacking. Thus, the investigators aim to characterize the contribution of this protein by investigating its expression in circulating blood cells from patients with an acute or chronic coronary syndrom. The main cells expressing the GARP protein are the platelets and the T regulating cells which will be the main focus.