Targets for immunomodulation in cardiovascular disease--where are we now?

The recognition that inflammation plays an important role in most cardiovascular pathologies offers the potential for the development of new therapeutic targets. Heart failure and in-stent restenosis are two areas in which there have been very recent developments in identifying and targeting potential inflammatory mediators. The development of both broad anti-inflammatory strategies and more targeted approaches have confirmed that immunomodulation may have a beneficial effect on disease progression of restenosis and heart failure in experimental animals, while the results from clinical studies highlight the need to consider the inflammatory processes as a whole, rather than some aspects in isolation. This review briefly summarizes the key stimuli for initiating inflammation in cardiovascular disease, recent clinical and experimental developments in the search for appropriate anti-inflammatory strategies and considers the possible pitfalls and future challenges for developing this area.