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Proinflammatory cytokines and ageing of the cardiovascular-renal system
Paweł Smykiewicz1, Agnieszka Segiet1, Michelle Keag1
1Department of Experimental and Clinical Physiology, Laboratory of Centre for Preclinical Research, the Medical University of Warsaw, Banacha 1B, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland.
Insights
As people age, levels of proinflammatory cytokines (PICs) rise, worsening cardiovascular health and increasing risks for heart attack, heart failure, and death. These inflammatory markers link aging to heart disease progression.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Science
- Aging Research
- Immunology
Background:
- Cardiovascular health declines with age, a primary risk factor for heart complications.
- Aging is associated with increased chronic low-grade inflammation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the role of proinflammatory cytokines (PICs) in age-related cardiovascular disease.
- To explore PICs as a pathophysiological link between aging and cardiovascular health.
Main Methods:
- Literature review focusing on the relationship between aging, inflammation, and cardiovascular outcomes.
- Analysis of the mechanisms by which PICs affect cardiovascular function.
Main Results:
- Expression of PICs increases with age, correlating with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
- PICs contribute to autonomic imbalance, myocardial electrical instability, cardiac dysfunction, and endothelial dysfunction.
- PICs impair renal function, exacerbating cardiovascular aging.
Conclusions:
- Increased PICs are key drivers of accelerated cardiovascular aging.
- PICs represent a critical link between chronic inflammation, aging, and cardiovascular disease.
- Targeting PICs may offer therapeutic strategies for age-related cardiovascular conditions.
Abstract:
Cardiovascular health deteriorates with age, and age is one of the strongest risk factors for cardiovascular complications including myocardial infarction, heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, and death related to heart diseases. In this review, we show that expression of proinflammatory cytokines (PICs) increases throughout the human lifespan, and this increase is correlated with cardiovascular health, morbidity, and mortality. We argue that increased concentrations of circulating PICs are not only markers of chronic low-grade inflammation, but they also serve as an important pathophysiological link between CV health and ageing. We discuss how PICs: 1) promote autonomic imbalance and sympathoexcitation; 2) enhance electrical instability of the myocardium, stimulate remodeling, and depress cardiac function; 3) prompt endothelial dysfunction, vasoconstriction, and progression of atherosclerosis; 4) impair renal function. All of these processes contribute to accelerated ageing of the CV system and increased susceptibility to CV morbidity and death.
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