ROLE OF IMMUNOTHERAPY IN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES

Abstract

Atherosclerosis, an inflammatory, lipid-driven disease of the arteries, is the primary cause of the majority of CVD problems, including CAD, MI, PAD, aneurysms, and strokes. The only medicine now available to treat cardiovascular disease caused by atherosclerosis is anti-IL-1 antibody therapy (canakinumab). Interleukin-1 actively promotes atherosclerosis. Along with activating macrophages, IL-1 also induces the activation of vascular smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells, and endothelial cells. Moreover, it boosts IL-6 synthesis, a pro-inflammatory cytokine that stimulates the creation and release by hepatocytes of a number of acute phase reactants, including C-reactive protein. Anti-IL-1 therapy improved primary and secondary cardiovascular disease outcomes and decreased infection risk, but it did not lower overall mortality. This has led to the development of novel, effective immunotherapeutics. Effective targets include chemokines and their receptors, immunological checkpoints, immune cell metabolism, hormones, and lipid mediators. These state-of-the-art immunotherapeutics are expected to improve primary and secondary cardiovascular disease endpoints while lowering cardiovascular disease mortality without immune-suppressive side effects. Because the pathogenesis of pericarditis involves immunological pathways, immunotherapy drugs like Rilonacept, a soluble decoy receptor that binds to IL-1 alpha or beta with higher affinity than cell surface receptors, can also be utilized to treat this condition. Immunotherapy is a treatment option for cancer. HER-2-targeted treatments, CTLA-blockade, and PD/PDL-1 inhibitor therapy are the main pharmacological classes; nevertheless, all of them are linked to significant cardiac damage, which can range from mild to severe in some situations.