The clinical complications of atherosclerosis are caused by thrombus formation, which in
turn results from rupture of an unstable atherosclerotic plaque. The formation of …

Cellular functions within tissues are strictly regulated by the tissue microenvironment which
comprises extracellular matrix and extracellular matrix‐deposited factors such as growth …

The concept of the involvement of inflammation in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis has
existed since the 1800s, stemming from sentinel pathologic observations made by Rudolf …

Rationale: Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-28 regulates the inflammatory and extracellular
matrix responses in cardiac aging, but the roles of MMP-28 after myocardial infarction (MI) …

Rationale: The high morbidity/mortality of atherosclerosis is typically precipitated by plaque
rupture and consequent thrombosis. However, research on underlying mechanisms and …

Arterial biomineralization processes have been afflicting humans for 5 millennia, as realized
in 2003 via the computed tomographic imaging of Otzi, the intriguing “ice mummy” …

The metalloproteinases (MMPs, matrixins) are zinc-containing endopeptidases involved in
the metabolism of extracellular matrix as well as in the cleavage of other proteins. The MMP …

Aims There is a need for animal models of plaque rupture. We previously reported that
elastin fragmentation, due to a mutation (C1039G+/−) in the fibrillin-1 (Fbn1) gene, promotes …

Plaque rupture is the main cause of myocardial infarctions and strokes. Ruptured plaques
have thin, highly inflamed, and collagen-poor fibrous caps that contain elevated levels of …

Despite the many studies of murine atherosclerosis, we do not yet know the relevance of the
natural history of this model to the final events precipitated by plaque disruption of human …