Molecular Targets and Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a very significant health problem in the United States. Current therapeutic options are surgery or endovascular stenting. Medical treatment is not very effective and there is no medical therapy that can effect the regression of AAA. Surgical or endovascular intervention for many older patients will be unnecessary if medications could prevent or reduce the progression rate of small AAA by 50%. Basic research has helped to determine the molecular basis of pathogenesis in AAA. Mediators of aortic damage include angiotensin II, leukotriene- LT4, prostaglandin- PGE2, interleukins, tumor necrosis factor, tissue plasminogen activator, c-Jun N-terminal Kinase, NF-κB, Rho kinases, osteoprotegerin and chymases. They work in concert to activate matrix metalloproteinase, serine proteases and cysteine proteases. The result is degradation of aortic wall proteins, extracellular matrix and apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells. An enhanced understanding of the pathogenetic pathways has led to significant research and development of new molecules, which can inhibit these pathways and delay the expansion of AAA. We discuss newly patented agents that may have a beneficial role in preventing the progression of AAA.
Keywords: 5-lipoxygenase pathway; Angiotensin II; cathepsins; chymases; collagen; cycloxygenase; dipeptidyl peptidase I; elastin; matrix metalloproteinases; prostaglandin E2
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: 01 June 2009
- Recent Patents on Cardiovascular Drug Discovery publishes review articles on recent patents in the field of cardiovascular drug discovery e.g. novel bioactive compounds, analogs & targets. A selection of important and recent patents on cardiovascular drug discovery is also included in the journal. The journal is essential reading for all researchers involved in cardiovascular drug design and discovery.
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