Chemokines in Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Pathogenesis: Emerging Therapeutic Targets

The CC chemokine family is a group of low-molecular-weight secreted proteins that can induce various cells to migrate to specific tissues. CC chemokines are also coordinators of many cellular activities, including hematopoiesis, wound healing, tumor growth and metastasis, fibrosis, etc. Recently, CC chemokines play a pleiotropic role in regulating the occurrence and progression of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, mainly by exacerbating the diseases, and their effects vary at different stages of disease progression. Moreover, the expression of many CC chemokines is highly specific in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. These CC chemokines can serve as potential biomarkers for predicting future cardiovascular events. Intervention strategies targeting CC chemokines to alleviate diseases, such as blocking the interaction between CC chemokines and their receptors, interfering with the binding of chemokines with glycosaminoglycans, have shown great potential for application. In this review, we present the structure, physiological functions, and regulatory mechanisms of CC family, particularly elaborate on the association between CC chemokines and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and reviewing the therapeutic applications of CC chemokines. This review demonstrates the great potential of CC chemokines in the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and proposes directions for future research.