Title:The Role of Interleukin-18 in the Development and Progression of Atherosclerosis
Volume: 28
Issue: 9
Author(s): Afsane Bahrami, Thozhukat Sathyapalan and Amirhossein Sahebkar*
Affiliation:
- Halal Research Center of IRI, FDA, Tehran,Iran
Keywords:
Matrix metalloproteases, acute coronary syndromes, vascular smooth muscle cells, polymorphism,
atherosclerosis, Interlukin-18, therapeutic.
Abstract: Atherosclerosis (AS), as a chronic inflammatory disorder of the cardiovascular system, is
one of the leading causes of ischemic heart disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease. There is
growing evidence on the role of innate and adaptive immunity in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.
Interleukin-18 is one of the novel proinflammatory cytokines involved in atherogenesis, atherosclerotic
plaque instability and plaque rupture. In this review, we overview the findings of preclinical and clinical
studies about the role and mechanism of action of IL-18 in the pathogenesis of AS, which could
offer novel prognostic and therapeutic approaches.