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Sobenin. Vessel Plus 2020;4:18 Vessel Plus
DOI: 10.20517/2574-1209.2020.09

Editorial Open Access

Atherogenesis, atherosclerosis and related
diseases: unresolved issues

Igor A. Sobenin

Institute of Experimental Cardiology, National Medical Research Center of Cardiology, Moscow 121552, Russia.
Correspondence to: Dr. Igor A. Sobenin, Institute of Experimental Cardiology, National Medical Research Center of Cardiology,
Moscow 121552, Russia. E-mail: igor.sobenin@gmail.com

How to cite this article: Sobenin IA. Atherogenesis, atherosclerosis and related diseases: unresolved issues. Vessel Plus
2020;4:18. http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2574-1209.2020.09

Received: 28 Mar 2020 Accepted: 3 Apr 2020 Published: 16 Jun 2020
Science Editor: Alexander N. Orekhov Copy Editor: Jing-Wen Zhang Production Editor: Tian Zhang

Atherosclerosis is highly prevalent and affects most of the elderly population. It often develops in parallel
with type 2 diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, obesity and an excessive body mass, all of which worsen
a patient’s comorbidities. The clustering of these pathologies, clinical manifestations of atherosclerosis
and conventional cardiovascular risk factors is often observed in tandem in epidemiological and clinical
studies. While isolated risk factors can account for risk variability, the combination of several risk factors
translates to a highly unfavorable risk ratio. This concept of the accrual of several risk factors supports the
association between atherosclerotic disease and cardiometabolic abnormalities. On the other hand, this
concept also suggests that underlying genetic and metabolic mechanisms may either be similar or different,
and can therefore be subdivided into common and disease-specific risk factors. Common risk factors may
be partially explained by one’s genetic background, but the role of genetic factors in the clustering of risk
factors in individuals remains unclear. Uncertainty over the common pathogenetic mechanisms, complexity
of phenotypes, and the biases from lifestyle factors and therapeutic intervention give rise to the need for
further discussion on unresolved issues in atherogenesis, atherosclerosis and related diseases.

Inspired by the opportunity to review and consolidate results from recent findings in the field of vascular
remodeling, we have launched this special issue of “Vessel Plus”. We aimed to gather the latest research from
both basic science and clinical investigations on the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis-related diseases and
metabolic pathologies, and molecular pathways for further development of targeted therapy.

It is notable that atherosclerosis is the common denominator and characteristic of the above mentioned
pathologies. Atherosclerosis is also either the cause of, or sequelae from these pathologies. Therefore,
studies on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of atherogenesis are of utmost importance. Over

© The Author(s) 2020. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use,
sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as long
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