Macrophage-based therapeutic approaches for cardiovascular diseases

Fig. 1. The role of cardiac macrophages in CVDs. Cardiac macrophages play pivotal roles in the progression of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), encompassing inflammation, fibrosis, cardiac repair, and regeneration through the secretion of mediators and interactions with other cardiac cells. TNF-α tumor necrosis factor alpha, IL interleukin, CTGF connective tissue growth factor, TIMP tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases, MMP matrix metalloproteinases, TGF-β transforming growth factor-β, Notch 1 neurogenic locus notch homolog protein 1, VEGFaa vascular endothelial growth factor Aa

Fig. 2. Targeted drug delivery to tissue macrophages. Effectively targeting cardiac macrophages remains a significant challenge in the field of cardiovascular medicine. With the development of advanced drug delivery strategies that precisely home in on macrophages, the promise of successful clinical translation can be realized. Several promising strategies are emerging, including tissue or cell-specific promoters, cell surface modification, exosome-based delivery CD68 Cluster of Differentiation 68, PolyA polyadenylic acid, PEG polyethylene glycol

Fig. 3. Advanced cardiac macrophage study model. For successful translation of research findings into clinical applications, more clinically relevant study models for cardiac macrophages, particularly in the context of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), should be considered. We have proposed possible models ranging from in vitro to ex vivo settings using human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived macrophages or novel patient-derived heart slice models, living myocardial slices (LMS). hiPSC human pluripotent stem cells, LPS lipopolysaccharide, IFN-γ Interferon gamma, TNF-α tumour necrosis factor alpha, GM-CSF granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor, IL interleukin, TGF-β transforming growth factor-β, KO knock out