The emerging role of pyroptosis-related inflammasome pathway in atherosclerosis

Molecular Medicine

Review

Lin Zhu¹  Kun Ren²  Jia-Xian Chen³  Shu-Ting Xu⁴  Jian Jiang⁵  Xiao-Dan Xu⁶ 

[1] College of Nursing, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, 230012, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of China;College of Nursing, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, 230012, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of China;Institute of Clinical Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, 570100, Haikou, Hainan, People’s Republic of China;Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, 570100, Haikou, Hainan, People’s Republic of China;Department of Nephrology, The Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, 116044, Dalian, Liaoning, People’s Republic of China;Department of Organ Transplantation, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, 570100, Haikou, Hainan, People’s Republic of China;Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, 230022, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of China;

关键词: Atherosclerosis;    Pyroptosis;    Inflammation;    Vascular endothelial cell;    Macrophage;    Vascular smooth muscle cell;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s10020-022-00594-2

 received in 2022-09-17, accepted in 2022-12-15,  发布年份 2022

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

Atherosclerosis (AS), a chronic sterile inflammatory disorder, is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. The dysfunction and unnatural death of plaque cells, including vascular endothelial cells (VEC), macrophages, and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC), are crucial factors in the progression of AS. Pyroptosis was described as a form of cell death at least two decades ago. It is featured by plasma membrane swelling and rupture, cell lysis, and consequent robust release of cytosolic contents and pro-inflammatory mediators, including interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-18, and high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1). Pyroptosis of plaque cells is commonly observed in the initiation and development of AS, and the levels of pyroptosis-related proteins are positively correlated with plaque instability, indicating the crucial contribution of pyroptosis to atherogenesis. Furthermore, studies have also identified some candidate anti-atherogenic agents targeting plaque cell pyroptosis. Herein, we summarize the research progress in understating (1) the discovery and definition of pyroptosis; (2) the characterization and molecular mechanisms of pyroptosis; (3) the regulatory mechanisms of pyroptosis in VEC, macrophage, and VSMC, as well as their potential role in AS progression, aimed at providing therapeutic targets for the prevention and treatment of AS.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2022

【 图 表 】

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