title: Inflammation in abdominal aortic aneurysms: cellular infiltrate and cytokine profiles.
abstract: Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) pathogenesis occurs as a result of the altered homeostasis of the aortic vessel wall structural proteins. This results in weakening, and subsequent expansion, of the aorta leading to aneurysm formation. Multiple mechanisms are involved in this process, including genetic abnormalities, biomechanical wall stress, apoptosis, and proteolytic degradation of the aortic wall. One key hallmark of this pathology, which orchestrates the interaction of the various pathologic processes, is inflammation. The inflammatory process is characterized by the infiltration of a variety of cells, which leads to the upregulation of multiple cytokines. The balance of the cellular type and resultant cytokine milieu determines the ultimate fate of the aortic wall - healing, atherosclerosis or aneurysm formation. This review highlights some of the known cellular and cytokine inflammatory events that are involved in aortic aneurysm formation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular Surgery, Cleveland Clinic, Lerner College of Medicine-CWRU, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. eagletm@ccf.org
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Eagleton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000097:blood*; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D018836:Inflammation Mediators