Immune System, High Lipid Levels Linked

A University of Chicago study found an unsuspected link between immunity and high plasma lipid levels — cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood.

The findings in mice, published in the journal Science, could lead to new ways to reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering elevated lipid levels.

The research team, led by Dr. James C. Lo in the laboratory of Dr. Yang-Xin Fu, suggests that an engineered protein could keep mice, and possibly humans, from developing high cholesterol and triglyceride levels, a key risk factor for coronary heart disease.

Besides showing a link between the immune system and elevated lipids, this study also opens a new avenue for the study of the close and complex link between elevated blood lipid levels and chronic inflammation as manifest in coronary heart disease, senior author Fu said in a statement.