
The average human has 60,000 miles of blood vessels coursing through their body. There are a number of mechanisms the body uses to keep that vast vascular network healthy, including a tiny fat molecule, a lipid called S1P, that plays a particularly important role.
S1P receptors dot the surface of the endothelium, a layer of cells that line the inside of all the body’s blood cells. Together, these so-called endothelial cells form a barrier between the body’s circulating blood and surrounding tissue. When S1P molecules activate their receptors, it suppresses endothelial inflammation and generally helps regulate cardiovascular health.
Now, researchers led by Timothy Hla, PhD, from the Boston Children’s Hospital Vascular Biology Program, report a novel therapeutic fusion that could trigger increased S1P receptor activity and recover blood vessel health following the onset of hypertension, atherosclerosis, stroke, heart attack and other cardiovascular diseases. …