Molecular mechanisms of vascular dysfunction and cardiovascular biomarkers in type 2 diabetes

Prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is alarmingly increasing worldwide. Albeit advances in therapy have reduced morbidity and mortality in T2DM, cardiovascular risk is far to be eradicated and mechanism-based therapeutic approaches are in high demand. In this perspective, deciphering novel molecular networks of vascular disease will be instrumental to develop novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in people affected by diabetes. There is therefore a need to address current knowledge gaps in disease aetiology in order to support innovation in diagnosis and treatment. Unfortunately, we are still lacking cost-effective markers able to identify atherosclerotic vascular disease at an early stage. The issue of risk stratification deserves attention because not every T2DM patient carries the same degree of inflammation and oxidative stress. The diversity of metabolic phenotypes with different outcomes underscores the need for cardiovascular risk stratification within such heterogeneous population. Early predictors of vascular damage are mandatory to implement intensive treatment strategies and, hence, reduce cardiovascular disease burden in this setting. In this review we critically discuss novel molecular mechanisms of diabetic vascular disease and their possible translation to the clinical setting.