Recent advances in research on human aortic valve calcification.
Aortic valve calcification can aggravate aortic stenoses, and it is a significant cause of sudden cardiac death. The increasing number of patients with age-related calcification is a problem in developed nations. However, the only treatment option currently available is highly invasive cardiac valve replacement. Therefore, clarification of the etiology of calcification is urgently needed to develop drug therapies and prevention methods. Recent studies have revealed that calcification is not a simple sedimentation of a mineral through a physicochemical phenomenon; various factors dynamically contribute to the mechanism. Further, we are finally beginning to understand the cellular origins of calcification, which had been unclear for a long time. Based on these findings that help to clarify potential drug targets, we expect to establish drug therapies that reduce the stress on patients. In this paper, I introduce the latest findings on cells that are most likely to contribute to calcification and on calcification-related factors that may lead to the development of drug therapies.
Department of Pharmacology, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
Ken-Ichi
K
Furukawa
D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000473:pathology*; D055396:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology*; D016207:Cytokines; D055808:Drug Discovery; D006801:Humans; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000150:complications; D054559:Hyperphosphatemia / Q000150:complications; D051550:I-kappa B Kinase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D020030:Nitric Oxide Donors; D010006:Osteoblasts; D012307:Risk Factors; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000502:physiology
C525718:BMP2 protein, human; D055396:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2; D016207:Cytokines; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL; D016328:NF-kappa B; D020030:Nitric Oxide Donors; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; C099252:oxidized low density lipoprotein; D051550:I-kappa B Kinase