Since many Americans consistently eat foods high in trans fatty acids which cause a proinflammatory response, atherosclerotic plaques begin to form. Trans fatty acids bind to toll-like receptors in the body. There are eleven known toll-like receptors in humans, which mediate inflammatory response. TLR’s are important for cell activation of ¬¬¬the immune system ¬¬and inflammatory response. We are interested in TLR4 due to its presence on endothelial cells because it can be bound by trans fatty acids. TLR4 recognizes pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) which activate an inflammatory response of the damaged endothelium.
Endothelial cells, lining the inside of the blood vessels, respond to free fatty acids providing an important nutrient source for the body. Cis fatty acids are known to provide anti-inflammatory properties when bound to FFAR. Activating FFAR4 could play an important role in decreasing Cx43 expression. By being able to decrease expression of Cx43 in the body it could limit the amount of inflammation and vascular damage that can