Postoperative Stress Accelerates Atherosclerosis through Inflammatory Remodeling of the HDL Proteome and Impaired Reverse Cholesterol Transport.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Over 10 million patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery annually experience major cardiovascular complications within 30 days, many due to destabilized atherosclerotic plaques. Reverse cholesterol transport (RCT), a key pathway for cholesterol removal by HDL and apoA-I, is critical in preventing plaque progression. While surgery-induced inflammation is known to impair HDL function, its effects on RCT and plaque stability remain unclear.

Methods

To isolate the impact of surgical inflammation, independent of blood loss, we developed an abdominal laparotomy model in apoE ^-/- mice on a Western diet, minimizing blood loss and avoiding perioperative blood sampling. We assessed plasma cholesterol efflux capacity, performed proteomic analysis of H

SUBMITTER: Boucher DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12060993 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature