Skip to main content
. 2019 Feb 28;6:16. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2019.00016

Table 1.

Anti-Inflammatory drugs targeting residual inflammatory risk in atherosclerotic disease.

Drug Mechanisms of action Animal data Clinical trial data
Colchicine

  • Inhibits microtubule polymerization

  • Prevents activation of NLRP3 inflammasome

  • Reduces release of IL-1β

  • Reduction in CRP (44)

  • Reduction in hsCRP, IL-1β, IL-18, IL-6 (45, 46)

  • LoDoCo: reduction in ACS, out-of-hospital arrest, and ischemic stroke

  • LoDoCo2: recruiting

  • COLCOT: recruiting
Allopurinol

  • Purine analog inhibiting xanthine oxidase

  • Reduction in aortic atheroma, foam cells, and cytokine release (47)

  • Reduction in recurrent MI (48)

  • Reduction in cardiovascular events following STEMI (49)
Salsalate

  • NF-κB inhibitor

  • NA

  • TINSAL-T2D: no impact on hsCRP (50)

  • TINSAL-FMD: no impact on flow-mediated dilation (51)

  • TINSAL-CVD: no change in hsCRP or coronary plaque volume (52)
Tocilizumab

  • Monoclonal antibody against IL-6

  • NA

  • Increased clearance of hsCRP following acute NSTEMI (53)

  • No change in coronary flow reserve following NSTEMI (54)

  • ENTRACTE: non-inferior to TNF-α inhibitor in reducing cardiovascular events (55)
Sarilumab

  • Monoclonal antibody against IL-6

  • NA

  • Reduction in hsCRP (56)
Anakinra

  • Humanized monoclonal antibody against IL-1

  • NA

  • Reduction in left ventricular remodeling and heart failure following STEMI (57, 58)

  • Reduction in hsCRP and IL-6 following NSTEMI
Canakinumab

  • Fully human monoclonal antibody against IL-1β

  • Neutralizing IL-1β antibody reduces coronary thickening and vasospasm (34)

  • CANTOS: reduction in MI, stroke, and cardiovascular-related death (59)
MLN1202

  • Neutralizing monoclonal antibody against CC-chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2)

  • Reduced atherosclerotic plaque in hypercholesterolemic CCR2 knockout mice (60)

  • Reduction in hsCRP (61)
Methotrexate

  • Folic acid antagonist

  • Reduced T-cell proliferation

  • Reduced cytokine release

  • Reduced expression of cell-surface adhesion molecules

  • Reduced atherosclerotic plaque size and intimal migration of macrophages in hypercholesterolemic rabbits (62)

  • CIRT: no reduction in hsCRP, IL-1β, or IL-6; no reduction in cardiovascular events (63)

IL, interleukin; CRP, C-reactive protein; hsCRP, high-sensitivity CRP; MI, myocardial infarction; STEMI, ST-segment elevation; MI; NF-κB, nuclear factor-kappa B; NSTEMI, non-ST-segment elevation MI; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-alpha.