Table 2.

The main biomarkers involved in atherosclerosis developments and the most common therapeutic approaches.

Biomarker	Steps in Atherosclerosis in Which the Biomarker Is Involved	Prognosis	Therapy
Hs-CRP [45,117]	Endothelial dysfunction Alteration of cholesterol metabolism Prothrombotic activity	Associated with AMI [51]	LDL-lowering therapy, including statins ACEI/ARB BB [118,119] Antidiabetic drugs, including Metformin [120,121]
Fibrinogen [52]	Endothelial dysfunction Foam cell production Platelet activation; prothrombotic activity	Prediction of all-cause and cardiac mortality [55]
TNF-α [58,59]	Overexpression of adhesion molecules in the vascular wall Foam cell production SMCs migration and proliferation	Associated with the risk of CAD [60]
IFN-γ [61]	Endothelial dysfunction Foam cell production Oxidative stress activation SMCs proliferation and migration Plaque destabilization	Associated with lesions prone to rupture [62]
NLRP3/IL-1/IL-18 [64,65,69,73]	Endothelial dysfunction Foam cell formation SMCs proliferation Lipid metabolism alterations Plaque destabilization	IL-18- prediction of MACE at 60-day follow-up [70]
IL-6 [76]	Endothelial dysfunction SMCs proliferation and migration Foam cells development	Progression of atherosclerotic lesions [78]
NF-κB [81]	Foam cell formation Lipid metabolism disturbances Vascular inflammation Plaque destabilization	Plaque destabilization [81]
CD40/CD4-L [82,83,84,85,86,87]	Inflammatory cell migration and adhesion Production of proinflammatory cytokines and MMPs Destabilization of atherosclerotic plaque; prothrombotic activity	Prediction of cardiovascular events and plaque progression [87]
PAPP-A [89]	Endothelial dysfunction Vascular inflammation SMCs proliferation and migration Destabilization of the plaque	Prediction of MACE [93]
MMPs [94]	Endothelial dysfunction SMCs survival and proliferation Increased plaque vulnerability with intraplaque neovascularization and prothrombotic activity	Prediction of major cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events [95,97]
MPO [102]	Endothelial dysfunction Foam cell production Proinflammatory effect	Prediction of MACE [104]
MCP-1 [108]	Monocyte migration to the atherosclerotic lesion	Correlated with symptomatic lesions and a higher risk of MACE [109]

AMI, acute myocardial infarction; CAD, coronary artery disease; Hs CRP, high sensitivity C-reactive protein; TNF-α, Tumor necrosis factor alpha; IFN-Υ, Interferon-gamma; NLRP3, NOD-like receptor (NLR) family and the pyridine-containing domain 3; IL-1, Interleukin-1; IL-18, Interleukin-18; IL-6, Interleukin-6; NF-κB, Nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells; CD-40L, CD40 ligand; PAPP-A, pregnancy associated plasma protein A; MMPs, matrix metalloproteinases; MPO, Myeloperoxidase; MCP-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1; MACE, major adverse cardiac events; ACEI, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors; ARB, angiotensin receptor blockers; BB, beta blockers.