Overexpression of tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP) in endothelial cells accelerates coronary artery disease in a mouse model of familial hypercholesterolemia

Abstract

Endogenous TNAP activity is present in human cardiac tissues. TNAP overexpression in vascular endothelium in mice leads to an unusual course of coronary atherosclerosis, in which calcification precedes lipid deposition. The prevalence and significance of this mechanism in human atherosclerosis requires further investigations.