View the PDF of this article at: https://www.the-jci.org/press/16584.pdf

Cathepsin S promotes atherosclerosis

Remodeling of the ECM contributes to atherosclerosis at multiple stages, and several lines of evidence have implicated the elastolytic cathepsins S (Cat S) and K. Seeking direct evidence for a role of Cat S, Guo-Ping Shi and colleagues crossed mice lacking Cat S with atherosclerosis-prone LDL receptordeficient mice. They found (pages 897906) that the double mutants -- when fed a high-cholesterol diet -- had an attenuated response: atherosclerosis was reduced by more than 50% after 12 weeks on an atherogenic diet, and by 30% after 26 weeks. While this study does not reveal the mechanism by which Cat S contributes to atherogenesis, it does suggest several possible modes of action and underscores the possibility that Cat S may serve as a therapeutic target in arterial diseases.

CONTACT:
Guo-Ping Shi
University of California, San Francisco
Surge 203, Box 0911
90 Medical Center Way
San Francisco, CA 94143
USA
Phone 1-415-514-1208
Fax 1-415-476-9749
E-mail: gpshi@itsa.ucsf.edu

View the PDF of this article at: https://www.the-jci.org/press/14915.pdf

Stem cells mobilized by crisis

Sickle cell disease affects 150 million people worldwide. The only curative therapy is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Because of the limited number of matched donors and the toxicity associated with allogeneic transplants, various gene therapy approaches in autologous stem cells are under development. Encouraged by the observation that sickle cell patients have increased numbers of cells expressing stem
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Contact: Brooke Grindlinger
science_editor@the-jci.org
212-342-9006
Journal of Clinical Investigation
14-Mar-2003