A systematic scoping review of vascular cell senescence in atherosclerosis: An innovative perspective and therapeutic approach

Abstract

Cell senescence is a complex process characterized by the incapacity of cells to divide, which ultimately compromises cell function. When this process occurs in vascular cells, prothrombotic, pro-inflammatory, and pro-atherosclerotic events will take place. Atherosclerosis is the main cause of death by cardiovascular disease worldwide, whose increasing prevalence has been attributed also to the rise in the longevity of the global population. Therefore, the recent evidence that vascular senescence effectively contributes to atherosclerosis must be carefully explored. The current study aims to outline the role of vascular senescence in the development and progression of atherosclerosis which has already been described in the literature. Herein, systematic research of the PubMed and Scopus databases was conducted. A total of 41 peer-reviewed articles met the inclusion criteria and represented a critically examined research on the overview of the implicated molecular mechanisms, the discovery of vascular senescence biomarkers for early detection of atherosclerosis, and in the long run, the identification of senescence-based innovative strategies for the management of this dreadful disease that causes such high morbidity and mortality rates and infers a huge burden in the health care systems.