Mitochondrial Dysfunction: The Hidden Player in the Pathogenesis of Atherosclerosis?

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences 2023-01, Vol.24 (2), p.1086
• Main Authors: Ciccarelli, Giovanni, Conte, Stefano, Cimmino, Giovanni, Maiorano, Patrizia, Morrione, Andrea, Giordano, Antonio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aging; Apoptosis; Arteriosclerosis; Atherosclerosis; Atherosclerosis - metabolism; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; coronary; DNA, Mitochondrial - genetics; DNA, Mitochondrial - metabolism; Endothelial cells; Endothelial Cells - metabolism; endothelium; Gene expression; Genomes; Heart; Humans; Inflammation; Ischemia; Lipids; Lymphocytes; Macrophages; Metabolism; Metabolites; Mitochondria; Mitochondria - metabolism; mitochondrial disorders; Mitochondrial DNA; Mortality; Muscles; Mutation; Oxidative Stress; Pathogenesis; Permeability; Plaque, Atherosclerotic - metabolism; Proteins; Reactive oxygen species; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; Respiration; Review; Signal transduction; Smooth muscle; Therapeutic applications; Therapeutic targets
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms24021086

Atherosclerosis is a multifactorial inflammatory pathology that involves metabolic processes. Improvements in therapy have drastically reduced the prognosis of cardiovascular disease. Nevertheless, a significant residual risk is still relevant, and is related to unmet therapeutic targets. Endothelial dysfunction and lipid infiltration are the primary causes of atherosclerotic plaque progression. In this contest, mitochondrial dysfunction can affect arterial wall cells, in particular macrophages, smooth muscle cells, lymphocytes, and endothelial cells, causing an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and intracellular lipid deposition. The detection and characterization of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is crucial for assessing mitochondrial defects and should be considered the goal for new future therapeutic interventions. In this review, we will focus on a new idea, based on the analysis of data from many research groups, namely the link between mitochondrial impairment and endothelial dysfunction and, in particular, its effect on atherosclerosis and aging. Therefore, we discuss known and novel mitochondria-targeting therapies in the contest of atherosclerosis.