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Aortic aneurysm

Platelet ceramides drive thrombo-inflammation in aortic aneurysm formation

Nature Cardiovascular Research volume 2, pages 1112–1114 (2023)Cite this article

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Effective pharmacological treatment options for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) are missing. A study by Zhang et al. suggests that targeting the thrombo-inflammatory activity of platelets by blocking the intracellular accumulation of ceramides might limit AAA progression while not affecting hemostatic platelet function.

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) are a major health concern, particularly affecting older people, with a prevalence of 1–2% among men over 65, and 1% among women aged ≥70. AAA is defined as a permanent, localized dilation of the abdominal aorta having at least a 50% increase in diameter compared with the expected normal diameter. Pathophysiologically, AAAs are characterized by immune cell infiltration and chronic inflammation in the vascular wall, degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM), and dysfunction of vascular smooth muscle cells. These structural changes lead to thinning of the aortic wall, enabling the passage of blood components, and causing inflammation and edema in the surrounding tissue. The rupture of an AAA is a catastrophic event with high mortality rates, accounting for approximately 150,000–200,000 deaths each year worldwide. At present, open surgical or percutaneous endovascular aneurysm repair is the only therapeutic option for AAA. Effective pharmacological interventions for AAAs are lacking, mainly due to an incomplete understanding of the underlying pathological mechanisms1.

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Fig. 1: Thrombo-inflammation drives in aortic aneurysm formation.

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Acknowledgements

We thank V. Göb and S. Beck for critical reading of the manuscript, and S. Beck for help with preparation of the figure. The work in our laboratory is continuously funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG; German Research Foundation), project number 374031971–TRR 240 and project number 453989101–SFB1525.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Experimental Biomedicine I, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    Bernhard Nieswandt & Timo Vögtle

  2. Rudolf Virchow Center for Integrative and Translational Bioimaging, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    Bernhard Nieswandt & Timo Vögtle

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  1. Bernhard Nieswandt
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  2. Timo Vögtle
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Correspondence to Bernhard Nieswandt.

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Nieswandt, B., Vögtle, T. Platelet ceramides drive thrombo-inflammation in aortic aneurysm formation. Nat Cardiovasc Res 2, 1112–1114 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44161-023-00374-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44161-023-00374-z

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