The CD40-CD40L Dyad as Immunotherapeutic Target in Cardiovascular Disease

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Abstract

Chronic inflammation drives the development of atherosclerosis. Despite optimal treatment of classical cardiovascular risk factors, a substantial portion of the population has elevated inflammatory biomarkers and develops atherosclerosis-related complications, indicating that a residual inflammatory risk drives atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in these patients. Additional anti-inflammatory therapeutic strategies are therefore required. The co-stimulatory molecule CD40 and its ligand CD40L (CD154) have a central role in the regulation of the inflammatory response during the development of atherosclerosis by modulating the interaction between immune cells and between immune cells and non-immune cells. In this review, we discuss the role of the CD40-CD40L dyad in atherosclerosis, and we discuss recent studies on the therapeutic potential of novel CD40-CD40L targeting strategies in cardiovascular medicine.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)13-22
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of cardiovascular translational research
Volume14
Issue number1
Early online date2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2021

Keywords

  • Atherosclerosis
  • CD40
  • CD40L
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Immune checkpoint proteins
  • Inflammation

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