Foods high in unsaturated fats may protect against cardiovascular disease and inflammation, and new research published today in Nature Communications has uncovered why.
Foods high in unsaturated fats may protect against cardiovascular disease and inflammation, and new research published today in Nature Communications has uncovered why.
Apolipoprotein A-IV, known as ApoA-IV, is a plasma protein. Levels of ApoA-IV increase after the digestion of foods, particularly foods high in unsaturated fats, such as olive oil. Higher levels of ApoA-IV in the blood have been reported to be associated with lower rates of cardiovascular disease.
New research from the Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science (KRCBS) of St. Michael's Hospital demonstrates that ApoA-IV is an inhibitory factor for platelets, which are small blood cells that play a key role in multiple diseases, particularly in bleeding and cardiovascular diseases.
These new findings suggest that ApoA-IV is a blocker of platelet surface glycoproteins GPIIbIIIa (also named integrin αIIβ3). Integrin αIIβ3 is a platelet receptor that is necessary for platelets to clump together in the blood (called platelet aggregation). Platelet aggregation can cause vessel occlusion that blocks blood flow, leading to thrombosis, which is the most common cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide.
Read more at St. Michael's Hospital
Image: New research from Dr. Heyu Ni, Platform Director for Hematology, Cancer and Immunological Diseases at the Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science (KRCBS) of St. Michael's Hospital and his team demonstrates that ApoA-IV is an inhibitory factor for platelets, uncovering why foods high in unsaturated fats may protect against cardiovascular disease. (Credit: St. Michael's Hospital)
