Preventing Aortic Aneurysm Initiation and Expansion by Inducing Immune Tolerance to Aortic Specific Antigens Embedded in Biodegradable Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) Nanoparticles

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a life-threatening disease diagnosed in over 200,000 Americans each year. There are currently no effective strategies to prevent AAA expansion and avoid the need for surgery. Our prior work has shown that patients with AAA have elevated plasma levels of elastin fragments, anti-elastin antibodies, and elevated levels of Th17 cells sensitized to elastin degradation products (EDPs), the sum of which suggests that AAA is the result of an autoimmune response targeting elastin, the main extra-cellular matrix protein in the aorta.