New Research on Immunity and Inflammation in Cardiovascular Disease

A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409). This special issue belongs to the section "Cells of the Cardiovascular System".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 580

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department for Vascular Diseases, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: cardiovascular disease and inflammation; preclinical atherosclerosis; endothelial dysfunction; intima-media thickness
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The basic pathogenetic mechanisms of cardiovascular (CV) disease remain poorly understood. Recent evidence shows that immuno-inflammatory activity plays a pivotal role in many CV diseases. Atherosclerosis, as the most frequent cardiovascular disease, is primarily a chronic inflammatory disease of the arterial wall. Inflammation induces endothelial dysfunction, which results in an increased permeability of the vessel wall to lipoproteins and their sub-endothelial accumulation. It also induces leukocyte recruitment and platelet activation, which is followed by atherosclerotic plaque formation and CV events. Inflammation is a common mechanism that links traditional risk factors to the development of atherosclerosis. Inflammation is a critical feature of vulnerable plaques, which influences their stability and related thromboembolic complications. In addition, inflammatory pathways may be leading mechanisms in other CV diseases, including heart failure, cardiomyopathies, and rhythm disorders. Inflammation is also involved in the pathogenesis of venous thromboembolic diseases and chronic venous insufficiency. Inflammation of the vessel wall is specifically caused by a large family of chemotactic cytokines, known as chemokines. The intensity of inflammatory processes can be determined by establishing the levels of circulating inflammatory markers, which also serve as potential biomarkers of disease severity and prognosis.

In the proposed Special Issue, “New Research on Immunity and Inflammation in Cardiovascular Disease”, we would like to elucidate the role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of different atherosclerotic CV diseases and its involvement in venous diseases. In addition, the utility of circulating inflammatory markers in determining disease severity and prognosis will be discussed. Finally, the role of the anti-inflammatory treatment of CV disease will be described.

Prof. Dr. Pavel Poredoš
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • inflammation
  • atherosclerosis
  • coronary artery disease
  • peripheral arterial disease
  • cerebrovascular disease
  • venous thromboembolic disease
  • circulating biomarkers
  • anti-innflammatory treatment of cardiovascular disease

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

28 pages, 27512 KiB  
Article
Wire Injury-Induced Moderate Aortic Valve Stenosis in Mice Is Accompanied by a Chronic Systemic Inflammatory Reaction
by Katrin Becker
Cells 2025, 14(12), 883; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells14120883 - 11 Jun 2025
Viewed by 338
Abstract
Background/Objectives: While the presence of inflammatory processes in stenotic aortic valves is acknowledged, no systematic characterization of the systemic immune reaction upon aortic valve stenosis (AS) has been performed yet. The hypothesis of this study was that AS induces a systemic inflammatory reaction [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: While the presence of inflammatory processes in stenotic aortic valves is acknowledged, no systematic characterization of the systemic immune reaction upon aortic valve stenosis (AS) has been performed yet. The hypothesis of this study was that AS induces a systemic inflammatory reaction linked with local processes in the heart. Methods: Murine wire injury (WI) to induce AS, or sham surgery, were performed prior to the 4-week assessment of AS severity, left ventricular (LV) function and hypertrophy with echocardiography (echo). Organ weights, levels of leukocytes, cytokines and costimulatory molecules in blood, heart, and peripheral immune organs (spleen, liver, lymph nodes), and immune cell uptake of Cy5-labelled perfluorocarbon nanoemulsions were measured. Results: Trends towards correlation were found between organ weights, myocardial immune cells and echo. Cytokine mRNA levels trended mainly towards an increase in heart and regional lymph nodes and a reduction in spleen and liver, and correlation with echo was more homogeneous after WI. Unchanged cytokine protein levels in myocardium and plasma trended to correlate with echo. A homogeneous pattern was found for echo and costimulatory molecule correlation, while PFC uptake by lymphatic cells was reduced upon AS. Conclusions: The results suggest a link between number and activation state of leukocytes in peripheral organs and cardiac processes in AS. Considering the pathological value of inflammation, it is crucial that future studies investigate if a modulation of the systemic inflammatory reaction relieves severity of AS and opposes development of heart failure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Research on Immunity and Inflammation in Cardiovascular Disease)
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