title: Vasa vasorum in atherosclerosis and clinical significance.
abstract: Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease that leads to several acute cardiovascular complications with poor prognosis. For decades, the role of the adventitial vasa vasorum (VV) in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis has received broad attention. The presence of VV neovascularization precedes the apparent symptoms of clinical atherosclerosis. VV also mediates inflammatory cell infiltration, intimal thickening, intraplaque hemorrhage, and subsequent atherothrombosis that results in stroke or myocardial infarction. Intraplaque neovessels originating from VV can be immature and hence susceptible to leakage, and are thus regarded as the leading cause of intraplaque hemorrhage. Evidence supports VV as a new surrogate target of atherosclerosis evaluation and treatment. This review provides an overview into the relationship between VV and atherosclerosis, including the anatomy and function of VV, the stimuli of VV neovascularization, and the available underlying mechanisms that lead to poor prognosis. We also summarize translational researches on VV imaging modalities and potential therapies that target VV neovascularization or its stimuli.
authors.affiliation: Second Clinical Medical College, Zhujiang Hospital and Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510280, China. junyanxu_zj@126.com.
authors.forename: Junyan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Second Clinical Medical College, Zhujiang Hospital and Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510280, China. lxt0115@126.com.
authors.forename: Xiaotong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Second Clinical Medical College, Zhujiang Hospital and Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510280, China. gshi@rics.bwh.harvard.edu.|Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. gshi@rics.bwh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Guo-Ping
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Shi
mesh_terms: D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D014651:Vasa Vasorum / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors
keywords: angiogenic therapy; atherosclerosis; imaging modality; mechanism; neovascularization; vasa vasorum