title: Chemokines as therapeutic targets for atherosclerotic plaque destabilization and rupture.
abstract: Chemokines are instrumental in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. Recent advances in genomic technologies and the recognition of atherosclerosis as an inflammatory disease have given great impetus to studies addressing the relevance of chemokines for the clinically manifest stages of atherosclerosis and acute cardiovascular syndromes. In this paper, we will review the current status of these studies, highlighting those chemokines that have already been associated with plaque destabilization and rupture. We will recapitulate recent epidemiologic, genomic, histopathological and experimental support for the prominent role of particular chemokines in acute cardiovascular syndromes. Collectively, these data underpin the potential of chemokines as biomarkers and/or therapeutic targets, but also expose the lacunae in our understanding of the precise function of chemokines in the atherosclerosis-related disorders and in the efficacy of chemokine-targeted clinical trials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Maastricht University Medical Center, P Debyelaan 25, Maastricht 6229 HX, The Netherlands. isabelle.daissormont@path.unimaas.nl
authors.forename: Isabelle T M N
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Daissormont
authors.forename: Adriaan O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Kraaijeveld
authors.forename: Erik A L
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Biessen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D015415:Biomarkers; D018932:Chemokine CCL2; D018925:Chemokines / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D051379:Mice; D012422:Rupture, Spontaneous
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C111835:CCL2 protein, human; D018932:Chemokine CCL2; D018925:Chemokines