Human Oxidation-Specific Antibodies Reduce Foam Cell Formation and Atherosclerosis Progression

ObjectivesWe sought to assess the in vivo importance of scavenger receptor (SR)–mediated uptake of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (OxLDL) in atherogenesis and to test the efficacy of human antibody IK17-Fab or IK17 single-chain Fv fragment (IK17-scFv), which lacks immunologic properties of intact antibodies other than the ability to inhibit uptake of OxLDL by macrophages, to inhibit atherosclerosis.BackgroundThe unregulated uptake of OxLDL by macrophage SR contributes to foam cell formation, but the importance of this pathway in vivo is uncertain.MethodsCholesterol-fed low-density lipoprotein receptor knockout (LDLR−/−) mice were treated with intraperitoneal infusion of human IK17-Fab (2.…