Recent advances in therapeutic targeting of inflammation in atherosclerosis

Current prevention of peripheral vascular disease (PVD) focuses on blood pressure control, lipid lowering, and platelet inhibition with statins and aspirin. A critical role for inflammation in the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis has been established for decades and, although both statins and aspirin have anti-inflammatory properties, the management of inflammation is becoming increasingly recognized. Here, we summarize recent clinical and translational discoveries that outline how inflammation may become targeted in PVD in the future.

A PubMed search using a combination of the following MeSH terms-inflammation, pathophysiology, atherosclerosis, cancer, auto immune disease, therapy, and clinical trial-was performed and literature selected with a focus on basic pathophysiology of inflammation and clinical investigations targeting inflammation in cardiovascular disease, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.

Based on this literature overview, we summarized the common features of inflammation in these different diseases and how inflammation may also translate into common therapeutic strategies. Finally, the results of recent clinical and translational investigations highlighting inflammation in cardiovascular disease are reviewed with a focus on hematopoietic mutations that generate more active immune cells and increase cardiovascular risk, treatment with anti-inflammatory biological pharmaceuticals that reduce cardiovascular risk, and translational studies demonstrating how the treatment of defective immune-mediated clearance of dying cells in lesions may prevent disease progression.

Progress in clinical and translational atherosclerosis research has now brought inflammation in clinical focus, because recent discoveries with respect to cardiovascular risk prediction and pharmacotherapy targeting inflammation have shown the potential to improve future care of patients with PVD.