Why Is Apolipoprotein CIII Emerging as a Novel Therapeutic Target to Reduce the Burden of Cardiovascular Disease?

Marja-Riitta Taskinen, Jan Borén
2016 Current Atherosclerosis Reports  
ApoC-III was discovered almost 50 years ago, but for many years, it did not attract much attention. However, as epidemiological and Mendelian randomization studies have associated apoC-III with low levels of triglycerides and decreased incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), it has emerged as a novel and potentially powerful therapeutic approach to managing dyslipidemia and CVD risk. The atherogenicity of apoC-III has been attributed to both direct lipoprotein lipase-mediated mechanisms and
more » ... ndirect mechanisms, such as promoting secretion of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TRLs), provoking proinflammatory responses in vascular cells and impairing LPL-independent hepatic clearance of TRL remnants. Encouraging results from clinical trials using antisense oligonucleotide, which selectively inhibits apoC-III, indicate that modulating apoC-III may be a potent therapeutic approach to managing dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease risk.
doi:10.1007/s11883-016-0614-1 pmid:27613744 pmcid:PMC5018018 fatcat:3lqfshrzbbh53l3b2iwffuupzu