Project: Local immunomodulation of atherosclerosis by CD8+ t-cell based nanomedicines

Acronym	AtheroInside
Duration	01/05/2019 - 30/04/2021
Project Topic	Atherosclerosis, the progressive narrowing of blood vessels due to the build-up of plaque in the vessel wall, is the most important underlying cause of cardiovascular events, like heart attack or stroke. Recent clinical trials show a promising reduction of events through administration of anti-inflammatory drugs. However, the downside of treatment with anti-inflammatory drug is systemic immune suppression and an increased chance of lethal infections. In this project, we aim to gain a better understanding of inflammation inside the atherosclerotic lesion, which should allow us to design more specific anti-inflammatory therapies, without systemic immune suppression. We will investigate how immune cells infiltrate the atherosclerotic lesion and use these cells as vehicles to carry anti-inflammatory drugs into the lesion. Moreover, by retrofitting these cells with contrast agents, we expect them to enhance imaging of atherosclerotic lesion, with the goal of improving diagnostics. We anticipate that this project will increase our understanding of the inflammatory pathways inside the atherosclerotic lesion and potentially provide new strategies to visualize atherosclerotic lesions and reduce cardiovascular events.
Network	ERA-CVD
Call	Joint Transnational Call for Proposal 2018 (JTC 2018)

Number	Name	Role	Country
1	Leiden University	Coordinator	Netherlands
2	Munich University	Partner	Germany
3	Ghent University	Partner	Belgium