Research Perspective Volume 5, Issue 7 pp 495—506

Figure 3. Biosensing of plasma components allows an unbiased approach to determine if therapeutics have altered the endothelial environment in an anti-inflammatory manner.

Endothelial cells respond positively or negatively to a wide range of serum components, including cytokines, hormones, growth factors, prostaglandins and other metabolites; however, conducting even a massive bioinformatic screening for all potential factors does not link the various measured components to a cumulative bioactivity. As the development of atherosclerotic disease is a decades-long process, maintaining the blood in a low-inflammatory phenotype is beneficial for the long term. Healthy individuals may not show overt signs of vascular disease progress in the relatively short period of a clinical trial for a nutritional supplement or diet, but their plasma composition can change rapidly and the relative inflammatory potential (and therapeutic efficacy) can be assessed with this or related techniques.