Authors: Niessner, A.; Goronzy, J. J.; Weyand, C. M.

Source: Current Pharmaceutical Design, Volume 13, Number 36, December 2007 , pp. 3701-3710(10)

Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers

Abstract:

Accumulation of inflammatory cells identifies atherosclerotic plaque at risk for rupture. Typically, activated immune cells occupy the rupture-prone areas of the atherosclerotic lesion. These cells are an appealing therapeutic target for novel strategies of plaque stabilization. Biologic consequences of plaque inflammation ultimately depend not only on the cellular players populating the lesion but also on triggers of immune activation originating from within the plaque or arriving from the circulation, and immune effector mechanisms that mediate cellular damage and plaque destabilization. Recent studies have provided insights into particular immune mechanisms in the atherosclerotic plaque that contribute to plaque vulnerability. This knowledge provides the basis for potential immunomodulatory therapies in cardiovascular disease. These therapeutic approaches can be classified as (1) immunomodulatory effects of existing therapies, (2) therapies targeting inflammatory triggers, and (3) agents inhibiting specific immune mechanisms.

Keywords: Inflammation; atherosclerosis; plaque; immune mechanisms; immunomodulatory therapies; cardiovascular disease

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138161207783018626

Affiliations: 1: Lowance Center for Human Immunology, Emory University, 101 Woodruff Circle, 1003 WMRB, Atlanta,GA 30322, USA.

Publication date: 2007-12-01

More about this publication?

• Current Pharmaceutical Design publishes timely in-depth reviews covering all aspects of current research in rational drug design. Each issue is devoted to a single major therapeutic area. A Guest Editor who is an acknowledged authority in a therapeutic field has solicits for each issue comprehensive and timely reviews from leading researchers in the pharmaceutical industry and academia.
  
  Each thematic issue of Current Pharmaceutical Design covers all subject areas of major importance to modern drug design, including: medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, drug targets and disease mechanism.

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