Page 9 - GTM-4-3

Global Translational Medicine

REVIEW ARTICLE
Inflammation and cardiovascular disease – Part I:

Mechanisms and biomarkers

2
Tushar Menon , Vipan Chahil , Dhruv Patel , Corina Grancorvitz ,
1
4
3
and Krishnaswami Vijayraghavan *
5
1 Abrazo Healthcare, Glendale, Arizona, United States of America
2 Valley Hospital Medical Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States of America
3 HonorHealth Mountain Vista Medical Center, Mesa, Arizona, United States of America
4 Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Lexington, Massachusetts, United States of America
5 Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine-Phoenix, University of Arizona, Phoenix,
Arizona, United States of America
(This article belongs to Special Issue: Convergence of Cardiorenal Metabolic Disease: From
Epigenetics to End Stage)

Abstract
Inflammation is a fundamental driver of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
(ASCVD), orchestrating immune activation, endothelial dysfunction, and plaque
instability. While lipid-lowering therapies can reduce the burden of ASCVD,
persistent inflammation remains a critical determinant of residual cardiovascular
risk, highlighting the need for deeper investigation into inflammatory pathways.
*Corresponding author: Key mediators, including interleukin-6, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and
Krishnaswami Vijayraghavan
(kvijay@email.arizona.edu) myeloperoxidase, amplify immune cell infiltration, foam cell formation, and
extracellular matrix degradation, exacerbating atherosclerotic progression. Beyond
Citation: Menon T, these well-established markers, emerging inflammatory biomarkers, such as cluster of
Chahil V, Patel D, Grancorvitz C,
Vijayraghavan K. Inflammation and differentiation (CD)47, serum and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1 (SGK1), P-selectin,
cardiovascular disease – Part I: and growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15), provide novel insights into vascular
Mechanisms and biomarkers. inflammation and immune dysregulation. CD47 modulates macrophage-mediated
Global Transl Med. 2025;4(3):1-11.
doi: 10.36922/GTM025100023 immune evasion, allowing apoptotic debris to accumulate within plaques, while
SGK1 enhances pro-inflammatory signaling and endothelial dysfunction. P-selectin
Received: March 6, 2025
facilitates leukocyte adhesion and platelet aggregation, contributing to plaque
Revised: March 25, 2025 destabilization and thrombotic risk. GDF15, a stress-responsive cytokine, is associated
Accepted: March 31, 2025 with adverse cardiovascular outcomes, linking metabolic dysfunction to chronic
inflammation. Likewise, inflammasome activation, particularly through NACHT, LRR,
Published online: April 23, 2025
and PYD domains-containing protein 3 and absent in melanoma 2 pathways, triggers
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s). cytokine cascades that perpetuate vascular injury, while clonal hematopoiesis of
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the indeterminate potential promotes myeloid-driven inflammation and atherosclerotic
Creative Commons Attribution acceleration. The expanding role of these biomarkers underscores the complexity of
License, permitting distribution, inflammation in ASCVD and highlights their potential for refining cardiovascular risk
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is assessment and elucidating novel mechanisms underlying plaque progression.
properly cited.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience Keywords: Cardiovascular disease; Chronic kidney disease; Atherosclerotic cardiovascular
Publishing remains neutral with disease; Inflammatory biomarkers; Vascular inflammation; Plaque instability and
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional thrombosis
affiliations.

Volume 4 Issue 3 (2025) 1 doi: 10.36922/GTM025100023