Gene Therapy Antiproliferative Strategies against Cardiovascular Disease

Abstract

Excessive cellular proliferation is thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of several forms of cardiovascular disease (e. g., atherosclerosis, restenosis after angioplasty, and vessel bypass graft failure). Therefore, candidate targets for the treatment of these disorders include cell cycle regulatory factors, such as cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), cyclins, CDK inhibitory proteins (CKIs), tumor suppressors, growth factors and their receptors, and transcription factors. Importantly, animal models of atherosclerosis have demonstrated an inverse correlation between neointimal cell proliferation and atheroma size, suggesting that excessive cell growth prevails at the onset of atherogenesis. Cell growth may also predominate at the onset of human atherosclerosis. Thus, given that affected humans often exhibit advanced atherosclerotic plaques when first diagnosed, the potential benefit of antiproliferative strategies for the treatment of atherosclerosis in clinic is doubtful. The antiproliferative approaches used so far in the setting of vascular obstructive disease have focused on restenosis and graft atherosclerosis, during which neointimal hyperplasia is spatially localized and develops over a short period of time (typically 2-12 months). Vascular interventions, both endovascular and open surgical, allow minimally invasive, easily monitored gene delivery. Thus, gene therapy strategies are emerging as an attractive approach for the treatment of vascular proliferative disease. In this review, we will discuss the use of gene therapy strategies against cellular proliferation in animal models and clinical trials of cardiovascular disease.