2024/07/10 by Yiran Ji, Yilin Wen, Shengwei Zhang +5 · 1 voice · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Studies on Chitinases and Chitosanases #Extracellular vesicles in disease #Protease and Inhibitor Mechanisms
paper · pdf · doi:10.18632/aging.205874
openalex publication_date 2024/07/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Atherosclerosis (AS) is the main pathological basis of cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease. Black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs) are a novel nanomaterial with good optical properties and biocompatibility, which was applied in the treatment of AS in mice, with good results shown in our previous study. In this study, BPQDs were injected into high-fat diet-fed apolipoprotein E knockout mice as a preventive drug for 12 weeks. Simvastatin, a classic preventive drug for AS, was used as a control to verify the preventive effect of BPQDs. The results showed that after preventive treatment with BPQDs, the plaque area in mice was significantly reduced, the vascular elasticity was increased, and serum lipid levels were significantly lower than those in the model group. To explore the mechanism, macrophages were induced to become foam cells using oxidized low-density lipoprotein. We found that BPQDs treatment could increase cell autophagy, thereby regulating intracellular lipid metabolism. Taken together, these data revealed that BPQDs may serve as a functional drug in preventing the development of AS.