The Role of Furin in Hallmarks of Aneurysms: A Focus On Its Substrates

An aneurysm is a frequently occurring and potentially life-threatening cardiovascular disease. However, limited clinical therapeutic drugs are available. Here, we aimed to provide a framework for aneurysm treatment by targeting Furin.

Our recent study reported, for the first time, that several Furin variants are found in patients with aneurysm, indicating the important role of Furin in aneurysm. Given that Furin is an important endoproteolytic enzyme that modulates the biochemical activity of proproteins involved in aneurysm formation and progression, interfering with Furin could be a promising strategy for aneurysm treatment. Since several Furin substrates like TGF-β1, NOTCH, IGF1R/IR and MMPs/ADAMs are closely associated with the hallmarks of aneurysm, Furin is a potential target for aneurysm treatment. However, significant gaps remain in our understanding of Furin in the different biological the hallmarks of aneurysms, due to the different role of Furin substrates in regulating the hallmarks of aneurysm. Further research is needed to clarify how the summarized interfering strategies targeting Furin impact on the aneurysm formation and progression in vivo.