The macrophages get clogged with cholesterol and become what scientists call foam cells, which are one of the earliest markers of atherosclerosis,' Bernal-Mizrachi said.

Macrophages are dispatched by the immune system in response to inflammation and are often activated by diseases such as diabetes.

Bernal-Mizrachi and his colleagues believe that in diabetic patients with inadequate vitamin D, macrophages become loaded with cholesterol and eventually stiffen blood vessels and block blood flow.

These findings will appear in the Tuesday edition of Circulation.

-Indo-Asian News Service

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