Gingerly seeking atherosclerosis treatment

Atherosclerosis, plaque build-up in arteries that causes heart attacks and strokes, affects more than 500 million people globally. Treatments for minor cases include lifestyle changes and oral pills like Aspirin and statins; severe instances require heart surgery. Patients with moderate cases fall within a missing medical middle.

Zhang et al. devised a targeted atherosclerosis therapy that encases an anti-inflammatory nanoparticle in stem cells. The sheath transmits the nanoparticle directly to blood vessels with atherosclerotic lesions while simultaneously tricking the immune system out of attacking the medicine.

“If you are in the moderate stage of atherosclerosis, say, not that serious to do a surgery, but only controlling your cholesterol level is not enough, then what do you choose?” said author Wenbo Han. “Our work is to find something to treat atherosclerosis at a moderate stage.”

The researchers first synthesized biodegradable nanoparticles from an anti-inflammatory compound extracted from a ginger-family plant used in traditional Chinese medicine — a “gift from nature,” said Han. They then coated the nanoparticles with mesenchymal stem cells, common in cancer treatments to naturally target damaged and inflamed areas. Lastly, the team tested their medicine on atherosclerotic mice. The nanoparticles successfully circulated and accumulated in the mice’s blood without toxicity, reducing their plaque build-up and increasing protective proteins in arteries.

While the treatment remains far from mainstream use, the team hopes for eventual monkey and clinical trials. The natural origin of both the drug and coating may also confer fewer side effects than conventional pharmaceuticals, they proposed.

“Our goal is to pave the way for more targeted and effective and gentle treatments for cardiovascular disease,” said author Chuanrong Zhao.

Source: “Mesenchymal stem cell membrane-coated kaempferol biomimetic nanoformulation for the treatment of atherosclerosis,” by Qianting Zhang, Xiangxiu Wang, Hongping Zhang, Keqiao He, Daojun Pu, Hong Chen, Anna Malashicheva, Wenbo Han, Chuanrong Zhao, and Guixue Wang, APL Bioengineering (2026). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0303756 .