Heart disease is one of the top causes of death around the world. In the United States, about one in every four deaths is caused by a type of heart disease called coronary artery disease.
This is when the blood vessels that supply the heart with oxygen and nutrients become blocked or narrowed, usually because of a buildup of fat and other substances, known as plaque.
Scientists are working hard to understand how this disease happens so they can find better ways to treat or prevent it. A new discovery from the University of Virginia Health could be an important step forward.
Dr. Mete Civelek, a scientist at UVA’s School of Medicine, explains that smooth muscle cells play a key role in heart disease. These are special cells that line the inside of our blood vessels. Normally, they help protect us by forming a cap over plaque, which lowers the risk of the plaque breaking and causing a stroke or heart attack.
But there’s a strange thing that happens. In some cases, these same smooth muscle cells stop helping and start making the disease worse. Instead of forming a protective cap, they actually help the plaque grow larger and more dangerous. Scientists want to know why this happens.
To learn more, a researcher named Noah Perry looked closely at these cells. He used cells donated by people who had received heart transplants. He studied their genes to try to understand why the cells sometimes change from helpful to harmful.
What he found was very interesting. The way these cells use nutrients—especially nitrogen and a kind of sugar called glycogen—may be involved. Glycogen is a stored form of sugar in the body. One specific sugar, called mannose, might be the signal that tells these cells to change their behavior.
The researchers believe this is an early step in understanding the disease. They say more work is needed. But this research could help doctors in the future find new ways to stop the harmful changes before they start.
Right now, doctors use treatments like medicines to lower cholesterol and manage blood pressure. These are helpful, but they don’t work for everyone. New treatments that can stop smooth muscle cells from turning harmful might give doctors another tool to fight heart disease.
The research team—including Perry, Diana Albarracin, Redouane Aherrahrou, and Dr. Civelek—is continuing their work. They hope that one day, this new understanding will lead to better treatments for millions of people living with coronary artery disease.
This discovery gives hope that in the future, we might be able to prevent some of the damage caused by heart disease—and help more people live longer and healthier lives.
If you care about heart disease, please read studies that herbal supplements could harm your heart rhythm, and how eating eggs can help reduce heart disease risk.
For more health information, please see recent studies that apple juice could benefit your heart health, and results showing yogurt may help lower the death risks in heart disease.
Copyright © 2025 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
