Therapeutic strategies targeting mechanisms of macrophages in diabetic heart disease

Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2024 May 15;23(1):169. doi: 10.1186/s12933-024-02273-4.

Abstract

Diabetic heart disease (DHD) is a serious complication in patients with diabetes. Despite numerous studies on the pathogenic mechanisms and therapeutic targets of DHD, effective means of prevention and treatment are still lacking. The pathogenic mechanisms of DHD include cardiac inflammation, insulin resistance, myocardial fibrosis, and oxidative stress. Macrophages, the primary cells of the human innate immune system, contribute significantly to these pathological processes, playing an important role in human disease and health. Therefore, drugs targeting macrophages hold great promise for the treatment of DHD. In this review, we examine how macrophages contribute to the development of DHD and which drugs could potentially be used to target macrophages in the treatment of DHD.

Keywords: Diabetic cardiomyopathy; Diabetic heart disease; Drug therapy; Macrophages.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / therapeutic use
  • Diabetic Cardiomyopathies* / drug therapy
  • Diabetic Cardiomyopathies* / etiology
  • Diabetic Cardiomyopathies* / immunology
  • Diabetic Cardiomyopathies* / metabolism
  • Fibrosis
  • Humans
  • Inflammation Mediators / metabolism
  • Insulin Resistance
  • Macrophages* / drug effects
  • Macrophages* / immunology
  • Macrophages* / metabolism
  • Molecular Targeted Therapy
  • Myocardium / immunology
  • Myocardium / metabolism
  • Myocardium / pathology
  • Oxidative Stress* / drug effects
  • Signal Transduction*