The Role of Chemokines in Atherosclerosis

1020 Words3 Pages

Atherosclerosis is a pathological condition that underlies several important adverse vascular events such as stroke, cerebrovascular disease, Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). etc. [1]. It is responsible for most of the cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the Western World currently [2]. As a result of the adoption of the western life style, its prevalence is increasing all over the world and could likely reach epidemic status in the coming future [2]. Atherosclerosis is a chronic disease of the arterial wall whose underlying pathogenesis involves an imbalanced lipid metabolism and a maladaptive immune response involving chronic inflammation of the arterial wall [1]. Leukocyte trafficking shapes the disturbed equilibrium of lipid accumulation, immune responses and their clearance and homeostasis, and this leukocyte trafficking is governed by chemokines and their receptors [1]. Chemokines are a superfamily of small structurally related chemotactic cytokines, which are involved in leukocyte trafficking and activation [3]. Chemokines have been found to play major roles in selectively recruiting monocytes, neutrophils, and lymphocytes, as well as in inducing chemotaxis through the activation of G-protein-coupled receptors [4]. Additionally, chemokines and their receptors have been identified as key players in the progression of atherosclerosis, thus they are explored in order to find therapeutic targets to prevent or treat Atherosclerosis and by targeting the chemokine system various entry points for a causative treatment are offered [5]. In this essay, the role of chemokine system in atherosclerosis is visited, the strategies employed to target chemokines as a therapeutic pathway for atherosclerosis and clinical trials undertaken ...

... middle of paper ...

...ation. 101, 353-63.

12. Teupser D, Pavlides S, Tan M, Gutierrez-Ramos JC, Kolbeck R, & Breslow JL. (2004). Major reduction of atherosclerosis in fractalkine (CX3CL1)-deficient mice is at the brachiocephalic artery, not the aortic root. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 101, 17795-800.

13. Barlic J, & Murphy PM. (2007). Chemokine regulation of atherosclerosis. Journal of Leukocyte Biology. 82, 226-36.

14. Locati, M., Bonecchi, R., & Corsi, M. M. (2005). Chemokines and Their Receptors: Roles in Specific Clinical Conditions and Measurement in the Clinical Laboratory. PATHOLOGY PATTERNS REVIEWS. 123, S82-S95.

15. Bursill, C. A., Channon, K. M., & Greaves, D. R. (2004). The role of chemokines in atherosclerosis: recent evidence from experimental models and population genetics.Current Opinion in Lipidology. 15, 145-149.

More about The Role of Chemokines in Atherosclerosis

Open Document