Researchers discover new culprit in atherosclerosis

A new study by NYU Langone Medical Center researchers identified a new culprit that leads to atherosclerosis, the accumulation of fat and cholesterol that hardens into plaque and narrows arteries. The research, published online by Nature Immunology on January 8, 2012, explains why cholesterol-laden, coronary artery disease-causing cells called macrophages, accumulate in artery plaques. Netrin-1 promotes atherosclerosis by retaining macrophages in the artery wall.