Potential role of Lu/BCAM in HIV-related atherosclerosis

Modisa S Motswaledi; Ishmael Kasvosve; Oluwafemi O Oguntibeju

doi:10.4102/ajlm.v8i1.792

Potential role of Lu/BCAM in HIV-related atherosclerosis

Afr J Lab Med. 2019 Sep 30;8(1):792. doi: 10.4102/ajlm.v8i1.792. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Modisa S Motswaledi^{1

2}, Ishmael Kasvosve², Oluwafemi O Oguntibeju¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa.
² Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana.

Abstract

Atheromatous lesions are formed by macrophages and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol invading the vascular intima. Here we show that increasing cholesterol levels are associated with peripheral monocyte depletion and this imbalance is aggravated by carriage of Lu/BCAM leukocyte adhesion molecules. This is true only in HIV infection and probably explains the risk of atherosclerosis observed in HIV-positive patients.

Keywords: Atherosclerosis; Lu/BCAM; Non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; cholesterol.