'Theranostic' Trojan Horse Approach For Atherosclerosis.

• Applicant: Dr. Kai-Uwe Jarr
• Subject Area: Cardiology, Angiology
• Term: from 2018 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 397504785

In every year since 1919, atherosclerosis underlies the leading cause of death in industrialized societies. Research shows that defects in programmed cell removal, called efferocytosis, are key drivers of atherosclerosis and promote directly plaque vulnerability. However, efferocytosis is not a fixed defect, and it can be reactivated. Recently, it has been shown that targeting of CD47 with antibodies can reduce atherosclerosis by specifically reactivating efferocytosis within the lesion. But unfortunately, the antibodies also promote the off-target clearance of healthy tissue outside the atherosclerotic plaque which may limit their clinical utility. Therefore, pro-efferocytic anti-CD47 antibody attached to nanomaterial has been designed and developed for a therapy strategy with more translational potential. The overall hypothesis of the project is that the designed nanomaterial (as a Trojan Horse) can deliver pro-efferocytic therapies to the atherosclerotic plaque without inducing phagocytosis elsewhere. Thus, this “Trojan Horse” approach will open up novel possibilities to discriminate stable and unstable (“vulnerable”) atherosclerotic plaques by molecular imaging (diagnostic aspect) and a novel efferocytic therapy without inducing toxic side-effects elsewhere (therapeutic aspect).

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: USA
• Host: Professor Dr. Nicholas J. Leeper