Identification of diagnostic markers of human carotid plaque phenotype

Large artery atherosclerosis is the underlying cause of acute coronary syndromes and also causes approximately 50% of ischaemic strokes. However, robust clinical predictors of future ischaemic events are currently lacking, thus making treatment choices challenging. The main hypothesis of this project is that macrophage phenotypes within carotid plaques are altered/skewed in unstable versus stable plaques and that characterization and measurement of these changes, combined with other features such as clinical MRI and blood composition may lead to the identification of clinically useful diagnostic markers to direct the best treatment for patients.

The project will:
- Apply multi-colour immunofluorescence, combined with histology to characterise human carotid plaques with a special focus on plaque macrophage phenotypes.
- Correlate macrophage plaque phenotypes with clinical features and blood composition.
- Use anti-inflammatory interventions in vitro to modulate macrophage plaque phenotype and test the best of these in a small pilot trial in humans.