主动脉瘤(aortic aneurysm)是以动脉出现永久性扩张为特征的一类血管疾病,常发生于肾下以及胸近端区域,破裂后十分凶险。目前主动脉瘤的治疗方式局限于手术干预,且尚未发现有效治疗药物,因此,寻找有效的干预靶点成为主动脉瘤治疗的新思路。近年来的研究表明,血管内皮细胞(endothelial cell)在受到外界环境刺激后可发生氧化应激、炎症反应及屏障功能破坏,而这些均可能参与动脉瘤的发生发展。随着内皮细胞在动脉瘤中的重要作用逐渐被揭示,基于内皮细胞为靶点进行干预也取得了较多的研究进展。本文重点综述了内皮细胞在主动脉瘤发生发展中的具体作用机制及以内皮细胞为靶点的动脉瘤治疗方法,旨在为临床干预主动脉瘤进程提供参考。

An aortic aneurysm is a vascular disease characterized by a permanent dilation of arteries, which most commonly occurs in the infrarenal abdominal and ascending aortic regions in humans, life-threatening due to high risk of rupture. Currently, the treatment of aortic aneurysms has been limited to surgical intervention, with no effective therapeutic drugs having been found. Therefore, to find effective therapeutic targets has become a significant concern. Recent studies have shown that vascular endothelial cells can contribute to aortic aneurysms due to oxidative stress, inflammation, and the disruption of the endothelial barrier function. As the gradual revelation of the vital role of endothelial cells in aortic aneurysms, remarkable progress has been made on the investigation of the endothelial cells as the potential target for aortic aneurysm treatment. In this review, we focused on the mechanism by which endothelial cells are involved in the development and progression of aortic aneurysms as well as therapies targeting endothelial cells for aortic aneurysm treatment, thereby providing novel evidence for clinical intervention of aneurysm progression.