Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2021 Feb 1;11:585285. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2020.585285. eCollection 2020.
Atherosclerosis (AS) is the main pathological basis for the development of cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. Abnormal accumulation of apoptotic and necrotic cells resulted in plaque enlargement, necrotic core formation and plaque rupture in AS. Under physiological conditions, apoptotic cells (ACs) could be effectively phagocytized and cleared by phagocyte-mediated efferocytosis. In contrast, the clearance efficiency of ACs in AS plaque was much lower because of the impaired efferocytosis in AS. Recent findings have made great progress on the molecular mechanisms of efferocytosis process and dynamic regulation, and its dysfunction on organismal health. Yet, there are still few effective treatments for this process. This article reviews the mechanism of efferocytosis and the role of efferocytosis in AS, highlighting a novel therapeutic strategy for AS, which mainly prevents the progression of plaque by targeting efferocytosis.
动脉粥样硬化（AS）是心脑血管疾病发展的主要病理基础。凋亡和坏死细胞的异常积累导致 AS 斑块增大、坏死核心形成和斑块破裂。在生理条件下，凋亡细胞（ACs）可被吞噬细胞介导的噬作用有效吞噬和清除。相比之下，AS 斑块中 ACs 的清除效率要低得多，因为 AS 中的噬作用受损。最近的研究在噬作用过程的分子机制及其动态调控及其对机体健康的功能障碍方面取得了重大进展。然而，针对这一过程仍然缺乏有效的治疗方法。本文综述了噬作用的机制及其在 AS 中的作用，强调了一种针对 AS 的新型治疗策略，主要通过靶向噬作用来阻止斑块的进展。
