Vascular proteoglycans and atherosclerosis: Not over yet

The role of proteoglycans in atherosclerosis has been under increasing study lately. Proteoglycans are a family of molecules composed of a core protein with attached glycosaminoglycan chains. As a class they are ubiquitous, although different proteoglycan species have different tissue distributions and expression patterns. In the vasculature, extracellular matrix proteoglycans, especially those in the small leucine rich repeat class, have several putative roles in atherosclerosis. Proteoglycans are thought to have a role in collagen fibrillogenesis and the organization and structure of the extracellular matrix.