Inflammation Reduction by TREhalose AdminisTration

Arterial wall inflammation has been consistently suggested to serve a causal role in promoting atherosclerosis and predisposing to hard cardiovascular outcomes. Therefore, there is a global trend in the pharmaceutical industry to develop safe and effective anti-inflammatory agents that could lessen arterial wall inflammation and prevent its detrimental impact on atheroma growth and instability. To this end, autophagy has emerged as a key regulator of inflammation and dysfunctional autophagy machinery has been consistently reported as a contributing factor to atherosclerosis and inflammation. Trehalose, a natural disaccharide sugar found extensively among miscellaneous organisms, by preventing protein denaturation plays various protective roles against stress conditions. Numerous studies indicated trehalose's ability to induce macrophage autophagy-lysosomal biogenesis and reduce inflammation. Also, intravenous (IV) administration of trehalose showed beneficial effects in the reversal of atherosclerosis in atherosclerotic animals. Therefore, in this study, the investigators will explore the potential efficacy of IV trehalose administration on arterial inflammation by employing an positron emission tomography (PET) with 18F-labeled fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (18F-FDG) and computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) technique which noninvasively characterizes vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis.