Preventing vascular injury without compromising defences

Andrés Hidalgo Alonso

Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Spain

Inflammation is a response of the immune system to protect the body from infection. But inflammation can also cause irreversible damage in some tissues. In particular, inflammatory cells can contribute to the formation of thrombi, which transiently block blood flow, causing cardiovascular diseases.

The most abundant defenses in the bloodstream are neutrophils. These leukocytes have a key role in primary vascular lesions. However, neutralizing the activity of neutrophils in order to avoid them is not a valid therapeutic option, since these cells are also fundamental in protecting the body from pathogens. The challenge is to prevent inflammation without compromising the immune system.

This project proposes a new strategy to avoid this problem, by means of the internal clock of the neutrophils that dictates when an immune cell must be inflammatory and when it must defend the body.

A better characterization of the internal clock of the neutrophils will make it possible to program them to attenuate harmful functions and preserve protective functions. These new therapies will help prevent cardiovascular diseases, especially myocardial infarction and stroke, which are the main causes of death and disability worldwide.

• María Ángeles Moro Sánchez (Co-Leader), Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Spain

• Jose T. Ortiz-Pérez, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Spain

Therapeutic targeting of the neutrophil clock in cardiovascular disease

€499,998