Lipid: Extracellular Matrix Interactions as Therapeutic Targets in the Atherosclerosis of Diabetes

Abstract

Most drugs for the treatment of diabetes and cardiovascular disease are targeted at measurable biochemical parameters which are identified risk factors. The targets include cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, and glucose. The absolute target of all such therapies is the prevention of cardiovascular disease being mostly atherosclerosis and its major clinical sequelae of heart attacks and strokes. Cardiovascular disease remains the commonest cause of death in people with diabetes. The initiation of human atherosclerosis depends on extracellular matrix lipoprotein interactions, and this chapter reviews the current knowledge of matrix targets in the development of atherosclerosis associated with diabetes and the potential of matrix components as new therapeutic targets.