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High Glucose Macrophage Exosomes Enhance Atherosclerosis by Driving Cellular Proliferation and Hematopoiesis

In this study, we aimed to explore whether hyperglycemia alters inflammatory properties and microRNA levels in immune cells as well as their extracellular vesicles (EVs) as a mode of intercellular communication in cardiovascular disease. To this end, we isolated EVs from the plasma of diabetic mice as well as from human subjects that included 7 healthy individuals (control), 5 individuals with diagnosed peripheral arterial disease but no diabetes, 9 diabetic individuals with no vascular disease and 5 diabetic subjects with established vascular disease. The human plasma EVs were examined for the content of microRNA and their capacity to communicate signaling when incubated with cultured human THP1 macrophages. Subsequently, the plasma EV-exposed macrophages were examined for total RNA sequencing to identify inflammatory and molecular pathways targeted by the human EVs.