The potential for novel anti-inflammatory therapies for coronary artery disease.
Although drugs that lead to cholesterol and lipid lowering have proved to have significant effects in lowering cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, coronary artery disease remains a principal cause of death worldwide. There is a clear need to discover further therapeutic approaches to control this disease adequately. This review focuses on the mechanisms that have been implicated in the recruitment, activation and differentiation of inflammatory monocytes/macrophages in nascent vascular lesions into lipid-laden foam cells. These mechanisms might provide attractive targets for novel therapies for coronary artery disease.
Merck Research Laboratories, PO Box 2000, Rahway, New Jersey 07065, USA. pegcascieri@aol.com
Margaret A
MA
Cascieri
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000473:pathology*; D002465:Cell Movement; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005487:Foam Cells / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000502:physiology; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000502:physiology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000502:physiology
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D018836:Inflammation Mediators