Effect of biologics targeting interleukin-23/-17 axis on subclinical atherosclerosis: results of a pilot study

Cardiovascular Considerations and Implications for Treatment in Psoriasis: An Updated Review

Psoriasis, a prevalent chronic inflammatory skin disorder affecting 2-3% of the global population, has transcended its dermatological confines, revealing a profound association with cardiovascular diseases (CVD). This comprehensive review explores the intricate interplay between psoriasis and cardiovascular system, delving into genetic links, immune pathways, and adipose tissue dysfunction beyond conventional CVD risk factors. The pathophysiological connections unveil unique signatures, distinct from other inflammatory skin conditions, in particular psoriasis-specific genetic polymorphisms in IL-23 and TNF-α have consistently been linked to CVD. The review navigates the complex landscape of psoriasis treatments, addressing challenges and future directions in particular relevance to CVDs in psoriasis. Therapeutic interventions, including TNF inhibitors (TNFi), present promise in reducing cardiovascular risks, and methotrexate could constitute a favourable choice. Conversely, the relationship between IL-12/23 inhibitors and cardiovascular risk remains uncertain, while recent evidence indicates that Janus kinase inhibitors may not carry CVD risks. Emerging evidence supports the safety and efficacy of IL-17 and IL-23 inhibitors in patients with CVDs, hinting at evolving therapeutic paradigms. Lifestyle modifications, statins, and emerging therapies offer preventive strategies. Dedicated screening guidelines for CVD risk assessment in psoriasis are however lacking. Further, the impact of different disease phenotypes and treatment hierarchies in cardiovascular outcomes remains elusive, demanding ongoing research at the intersection of dermatology, rheumatology, and cardiology. In conclusion, unraveling the intricate connections between psoriasis and CVD provides a foundation for a holistic approach to patient care. Collaboration between specialties, advancements in screening methodologies, and a nuanced understanding of treatment impacts are essential for comprehensive cardiovascular risk management in individuals with psoriasis.

Does Systemic Anti-Psoriatic Treatment Impact the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease? A Review Over Cardiovascular Imaging Studies

Psoriasis is an immune-mediated inflammatory disease associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The risk of CVD increases with the severity of psoriasis, and exposure to systemic inflammation may partly explain the increased risk of CVD in these patients. This raises the question of whether anti-psoriatic treatment, in addition to treating the skin lesions, also lowers the risk of developing CVD. Different types of studies have examined the impact of systemic anti-psoriatic treatments on the risk of CVD in patients with psoriasis and epidemiological observational studies with, e.g., myocardial infarction and stroke as outcomes, and clinical studies investigating circulating inflammatory biomarkers in the blood indicate that anti-psoriatic therapy has a protective effect; however, no randomized controlled trial (RCT) has examined the impact of systemic anti-psoriatic treatment on future hard cardiovascular endpoints. This narrative review provides an overview of the clinical cardiovascular imaging studies examining the effect of systemic anti-psoriatic treatment on the risk of subclinical CVD in patients with psoriasis. We found a total of 24 clinical imaging studies, where 16 of these were observational cohort studies and eight were RCTs. The observational studies suggest an improvement in the risk of subclinical CVD based on different cardiovascular imaging biomarkers; however, the RCTs showed inconsistent results and mainly included vascular inflammation as the outcome. Future RCTs including other imaging biomarkers as surrogates for subclinical CVD, with longer follow-up and with hard cardiovascular endpoints are warranted to address whether systemic anti-psoriatic treatments reduce the risk of CVD.

Subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa treated with TNF inhibitors

BACKGROUND

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is an independent risk factor for the development of subclinical atherosclerosis. Tumour necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors are effective for the treatment of recalcitrant moderate-to-severe HS. However, the effect of treatment with TNF inhibitors on subclinical atherosclerosis in HS patients has not been previously investigated.

OBJECTIVES

In this study, we aimed to assess changes in biochemical parameters (fasting blood glucose and lipid levels) and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) values in Hurley stage II and III HS patients undergoing treatment with TNF inhibitors.

METHODS

This was a single center prospective study including 30 patients with Hurley stage II and III HS and 30 healthy controls (HCs). Baseline values of biochemical parameters and CIMT were compared to the values recorded after at least 6 months of TNF inhibitor therapy.

RESULTS

CIMT values of the HS patients significantly exceeded those of HCs (for right p = 0.011 and for left p = 0.017). After at least 6 months of TNF inhibitor therapy, there was a statistically significant decrease in fasting blood glucose (p = 0.001), whereas total cholesterol levels significantly increased (p = 0.001). CIMT values also significantly increased (for right p = 0.02 and for left p = 0.01).

STUDY LIMITATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

Small sample size is limitation of the current study. Our study shows that patients with Hurley stage II and III HS undergoing TNF inhibitor therapy are under risk for progression of subclinical atherosclerosis.

Biologics for Reducing Cardiovascular Risk in Psoriasis Patients

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and metabolic syndrome. Among them, CVD is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in psoriasis patients. Since CVD is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality, primary care clinicians are increasingly committed to reducing the risk of CVD in patients with psoriasis. Biologics targeting TNF-α, IL-12/23, and IL-17 are systemic therapies that can dramatically improve the condition of psoriasis. Recent studies have reported that these inflammatory cytokine signals may promote atherosclerosis, suggesting that biologics might be effective for improving psoriasis as well as reducing the risk of CVD. Here, we reviewed cardiovascular risk in psoriasis patients, the association between psoriatic inflammation and atherosclerosis, and the efficacy of biologics for reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

The Impact of Treatment with IL-17/IL-23 Inhibitors on Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Patients with Plaque Psoriasis and/or Psoriatic Arthritis: A Systematic Review

Accumulating evidence considers psoriasis a systemic inflammatory disorder that is associated with comorbidities such as psoriatic arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome. Although the precise pathogenetic links between psoriasis and atherosclerosis warrants further investigation, it is believed that chronic systemic inflammation along with the T helper (Th)-1 and Th17 polarization are associated with endothelial dysfunction and subsequent acceleration of atherosclerosis. Considering the above, several studies have evaluated if optimal control of the inflammation in psoriasis by inhibiting interleukins targeting the Interleukin (IL)-23/Th17 axis could subsequently reduce the atherosclerotic process during anti-psoriatic treatment by using a variety of surrogate markers of subclinical atherosclerosis. This systematic review summarizes current knowledge on the pathogenetic mechanisms and diagnostic evaluation of atherosclerosis in the context of psoriasis and provides a systematic review of the literature on the impact of treatment with biologics targeting the IL-23/Th17 axis on subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with plaque psoriasis and/or psoriatic arthritis.

Repurposing of Drugs for Cardiometabolic Disorders: An Out and Out Cumulation

Cardiometabolic disorders (CMD) is a constellation of metabolic predisposing factors for atherosclerosis such as insulin resistance (IR) or diabetes mellitus (DM), systemic hypertension, central obesity, and dyslipidemia. Cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs) continue to be the leading cause of mortality in both developed and developing nations, accounting for over 32% of all fatalities globally each year. Furthermore, dyslipidemia, angina, arrhythmia, heart failure, myocardial infarction (MI), and diabetes mellitus are the major causes of death, accounting for an estimated 19 million deaths in 2012. CVDs will kill more than 23 million individuals each year by 2030. Nonetheless, new drug development (NDD) in CMDs has been increasingly difficult in recent decades due to increased costs and a lower success rate. Drug repositioning in CMDs looks promising in this scenario for launching current medicines for new therapeutic indications. Repositioning is an ancient method that dates back to the 1960s and is mostly based on coincidental findings during medication trials. One significant advantage of repositioning is that the drug's safety profile is well known, lowering the odds of failure owing to undesirable toxic effects. Furthermore, repositioning takes less time and money than NDD. Given these facts, pharmaceutical corporations are becoming more interested in medication repositioning. In this follow-up, we discussed the notion of repositioning and provided some examples of repositioned medications in cardiometabolic disorders.

Identification of galectin-1 and other cellular targets of alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, including dimethylfumarate, by use of click-chemistry probes

α,β-Unsaturated carbonyls are a common motif in environmental toxins (e.g. acrolein) as well as therapeutic drugs, including dimethylfumarate (DMFU) and monomethylfumarate (MMFU), which are used to treat multiple sclerosis and psoriasis. These compounds form adducts with protein Cys residues as well as other nucleophiles. The specific targets ('adductome') that give rise to their therapeutic or toxic activities are poorly understood. This is due, at least in part, to the absence of antigens or chromophores/fluorophores in these compounds. We have recently reported click-chemistry probes of DMFU and MMFU (Redox Biol., 2022, 52, 102299) that allow adducted proteins to be visualized and enriched for further characterization. In the current study, we hypothesized that adducted proteins could be 'clicked' to agarose beads and thereby isolated for LC-MS analysis of DMFU/MMFU targets in primary human coronary artery smooth muscle cells. We show that the probes react with thiols with similar rate constants to the parent drugs, and give rise to comparable patterns of gene induction, confirming similar biological actions. LC-MS proteomic analysis identified ∼2970 cellular targets of DMFU, ∼1440 for MMFU, and ∼140 for the control (succinate-probe) treated samples. The most extensively modified proteins were galectin-1, annexin-A2, voltage dependent anion channel-2 and vimentin. Other previously postulated DMFU targets, including glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), cofilin, p65 (RELA) and Keap1 were also identified as adducted species, though at lower levels with the exception of GAPDH. These data demonstrate the utility of the click-chemistry approach to the identification of cellular protein targets of both exogenous and endogenous compounds.

Interleukin-17A influences the vulnerability rather than the size of established atherosclerotic plaques in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice

Interleukin (IL)-17A plays a role in the development of atherosclerotic plaques; however, the mechanism remains unclear. In this study, apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE^–/–) mice were fed a high-fat diet to induce atherosclerosis, followed by the treatment with exogenous recombinant IL-17A or the neutralizing antibody to confirm the impact of IL-17A on the established atherosclerotic plaques. We found that both the stimulation of IL-17A and blockage of endogenous IL-17 via antibody did not affect the size of the established plaques. However, IL-17A significantly increased the vulnerability of plaques characterized by the accumulation of lipids and T cells with a concurrent decrease in the number of smooth muscle cells. In addition, the blockage by IL-17 neutralizing antibody attenuated plaque vulnerability. Furthermore, we found that although IL-17A did not affect the efferocytosis of macrophages to apoptotic cells, it promoted the apoptosis of macrophages in the presence of oxidized low-density lipoprotein in vitro. Also, IL-17A upregulated chemokines MCP-1 and CXCL-10 expression in the plaques. Our data indicated that IL-17A controlled both SMC and macrophage accumulation and the apoptosis within the plaque, which may further weaken the aorta wall. This study suggests that IL-17A may be a potential therapeutic target for cardiovascular diseases.

Research progress on Th17 and T regulatory cells and their cytokines in regulating atherosclerosis

Background

Coronary heart disease due to atherosclerosis is the leading cause of death worldwide. Atherosclerosis is considered a chronic inflammatory state in the arterial wall that promotes disease progression and outcome, and immune cells play an important role in the inflammatory process.

Purpose

We review the mechanisms of CD4+ T subsets, i.e., helper T17 (Th17) cells and regulatory T cells (Tregs), in regulating atherosclerosis, focusing on the role of interleukin (IL)-17, IL-10, and other cytokines in this disease and the factors influencing the effects of these cytokines.

Results

IL-17 secreted by Th17 cells can promote atherosclerosis, but few studies have reported that IL-17 can also stabilize atherosclerotic plaques. Tregs play a protective role in atherosclerosis, and Th17/Treg imbalance also plays an important role in atherosclerosis.

Conclusion

The immune response is important in regulating atherosclerosis, and studying the mechanism of action of each immune cell on atherosclerosis presents directions for the treatment of atherosclerosis. Nevertheless, the current studies are insufficient for elucidating the mechanism of action, and further in-depth studies are needed to provide a theoretical basis for clinical drug development.

Oxidative Stress Induced by High Salt Diet—Possible Implications for Development and Clinical Manifestation of Cutaneous Inflammation and Endothelial Dysfunction in Psoriasis vulgaris

Although oxidative stress is recognized as an important effector mechanism of the immune system, uncontrolled formation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species promotes excessive tissue damage and leads to disease development. In view of this, increased dietary salt intake has been found to damage redox systems in the vessel wall, resulting in endothelial dysfunction associated with NO uncoupling, inflammation, vascular wall remodeling and, eventually, atherosclerosis. Several studies have reported increased systemic oxidative stress accompanied by reduced antioxidant capacity following a high salt diet. In addition, vigorous ionic effects on the immune mechanisms, such as (trans)differentiation of T lymphocytes are emerging, which together with the evidence of NaCl accumulation in certain tissues warrants a re-examination of the data derived from in vitro research, in which the ionic influence was excluded. Psoriasis vulgaris (PV), as a primarily Th17-driven inflammatory skin disease with proven inflammation-induced accumulation of sodium chloride in the skin, merits our interest in the role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of PV, as well as in the possible beneficial effects that could be achieved through modulation of dietary salt intake and antioxidant supplementation.

Interleukin-17 Links Inflammatory Cross-Talks Between Comorbid Psoriasis and Atherosclerosis

Psoriasis is a chronic, systemic, immune-mediated inflammatory disorder that is associated with a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Studies have shown that psoriasis often coexists with atherosclerosis, a chronic inflammatory disease of large and medium-sized arteries, which is a major cause of CVD. Although the molecular mechanisms underlying this comorbidity are not fully understood, clinical studies have shown that when interleukin (IL)-17A inhibitors effectively improve psoriatic lesions, atherosclerotic symptoms are also ameliorated in patients with both psoriasis and atherosclerosis. Also, IL-17A levels are highly expressed in the psoriatic lesions and atherosclerotic plaques. These clinical observations implicit that IL-17A could be a crucial link for psoriasis and atherosclerosis and IL-17A-induced inflammatory responses are the major contribution to the pathogenesis of comorbid psoriasis and atherosclerosis. In this review, the current literature related to epidemiology, genetic predisposition, and inflammatory mechanisms of comorbidity of psoriasis and atherosclerosis is summarized. We focus on the immunopathological effects of IL-17A in both diseases. The goal of this review is to provide the theoretical base for future preventing or treating psoriasis patients with atherosclerosis comorbidity. The current evidence support the notion that treatments targeting IL-17 seem to be hold some promise to reduce cardiovascular risk in patients with psoriasis.

Impact of Interleukin-17 Inhibitor Therapy on Arterial Intima-media Thickness among Severe Psoriatic Patients

BACKGROUND

Psoriasis is frequently accompanied by cardiovascular diseases based on the shared immunopathogenic pathway. Authors determined the effect of interleukin (IL)-17 inhibitor therapy on arterial intima-media thickness (IMT) among severe psoriatic patients.

METHODS

Thirty-one severe psoriatic patients were enrolled. Twenty received secukinumab and 11 received ixekizumab. Before treatment initiation and after 6 months, the carotid-brachial-femoral IMT, the Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI), the Dermatology Life Quality of Index (DLQI) and the EuroQol Visual Analogue Scale (EQ VAS) were evaluated.

RESULTS

After 6 months, significant ameliorations were observed in PASI (p < 0.001) from 18 to 0, in DLQI (p < 0.001) from 17 to 0, in EQ VAS (p < 0.001) from 60 to 90, in right carotid IMT (p < 0.001) from 1.1 mm to 0.8 mm, in left carotid IMT (p < 0.001) from 1.1 mm to 0.7 mm, in right brachial IMT (p < 0.001) from 0.75 mm to 0.6 mm, in left brachial IMT (p < 0.001) from 0.8 mm to 0.5 mm, in right femoral IMT (p < 0.001) from 0.9 mm to 0.7 mm and in left femoral IMT (p < 0.001) from 0.8 mm to 0.7 mm.

CONCLUSIONS

By reducing the inflammation of the vascular wall, anti-IL-17 therapy may have a beneficial long-term effect on cardiovascular complications of systemic inflammation.

Cardiovascular Safety of Biologics Targeting Interleukin (IL)-12 and/or IL-23: What Does the Evidence Say?

There is substantial evidence regarding the association between psoriasis and the elevated risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease. Many patients with psoriasis may also be concerned that their treatments may be associated with a further increase in the risk of CV disease. In this article, we summarize the data regarding the biological role of interleukin (IL)-12/23 in atherogenesis. We performed a literature search for currently known CV safety data from trials and observational studies of treatments targeting IL-12/23 in psoriasis, i.e. the p40 inhibitors ustekinumab and briakinumab, and the p19 inhibitors guselkumab, risankizumab, and tildrakizumab. On balance, extensive evidence supports the CV safety of ustekinumab, with over 14 years of follow-up data in multiple cohort studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs). One self-controlled study concluded ustekinumab may precipitate short-term raised CV risk, but the study had limitations hindering interpretation. The safety evidence from RCTs on the p19 inhibitors are reassuring thus far, but these studies may not detect rare CV events in real-world patients. We concluded that the overall evidence does not show that ustekinumab is associated with an increase in the risk of CV disease in patients with psoriasis, but further data are awaited to assess the CV safety of p19 inhibitors for the treatment of psoriasis.

Risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in patients initiating biologics/apremilast for psoriatic arthritis: a nationwide cohort study

Objective

Several biological DMARDs (bDMARDs) have demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects in PsA. However, their comparative cardiovascular safety profiles remain unknown. We evaluated the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in PsA patients on therapy with different classes of bDMARDs and apremilast.

Methods

This nationwide cohort study involved the administrative healthcare database of the French health insurance scheme linked to the hospital discharge database. All adults with PsA who were new users of bDMARDs/apremilast (neither in the year before the index date) during 2015–19 were included. Patients with previous cardiovascular diseases were excluded. End of follow-up was 31 December 2019. The primary endpoint was an occurrence of MACEs in a time-to-event analysis with propensity score-weighted Cox and Fine–Gray models.

Results

Between 2015 and 2019, we included 9510 bDMARD new users [mean age 48.5 (s.d. 12.7) years; 42% men], including 7289 starting a TNF inhibitor, 1058 an IL-12/23 inhibitor and 1163 an IL-17 inhibitor, with 1885 apremilast new users [mean age 54.0 (s.d. 12.5) years; 44% men]. MACEs occurred in 51 (0.4%) patients. After propensity score weighting, the risk of MACEs was significantly greater with IL-12/23 (weighted hazard ratio 2.0, 95% CI 1.3, 3.0) and IL-17 (weighted hazard ratio 1.9, 95% CI 1.2, 3.0) inhibitors than TNF inhibitors, with no significant increased risk with apremilast (weighted hazard ratio 1.3, 95% CI 0.8, 2.2). Similar results were observed with the Fine–Gray competing risks survival model.

Conclusion

Analysis of a large database revealed a small overall number of MACEs, and the risk of MACEs was greater for PsA new users of IL-12/23 and IL-17 vs TNF inhibitors.

Antibody-Based Therapeutics for Atherosclerosis and Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, and its prevalence is increasing due to the aging of societies. Atherosclerosis, a type of chronic inflammatory disease that occurs in arteries, is considered to be the main cause of cardiovascular diseases such as ischemic heart disease or stroke. In addition, the inflammatory response caused by atherosclerosis confers a significant effect on chronic inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis and rheumatic arthritis. Here, we review the mechanism of action of the main causes of atherosclerosis such as plasma LDL level and inflammation; furthermore, we review the recent findings on the preclinical and clinical effects of antibodies that reduce the LDL level and those that neutralize the cytokines involved in inflammation. The apolipoprotein B autoantibody and anti-PCSK9 antibody reduced the level of LDL and plaques in animal studies, but failed to significantly reduce carotid inflammation plaques in clinical trials. The monoclonal antibodies against PCSK9 (alirocumab, evolocumab), which are used as a treatment for hyperlipidemia, lowered cholesterol levels and the incidence of cardiovascular diseases. Antibodies that neutralize inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-17, and IL-12/23) have shown promising but contradictory results and thus warrant further research.

Assessing the Short-Term Efficacy and Safety of Guselkumab for Moderate-to-Severe Plaque Psoriasis: Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Background

To investigate the efficacy and safety of guselkumab in the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

Methods

A systematic review was undertaken to identify double-blind randomized controlled trials (RCTs). PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Google Scholar databases were searched before 1 March 2020. The odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. All analyses were conducted with intention-to-treat basis. A range of sensitivity analyses was undertaken.

Results

A total of 7 articles contained 1206 plaque psoriasis patients with guselkumab, 585 patients with placebo, and 1250 patients with adalimumab were included. The results indicated that guselkumab had better efficacy than placebo or adalimumab for Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score reductions from baseline of 75% (PASI 75) (OR = 61.37, 95% CI = 31.15 to 120.91; OR = 3.08, 95% CI = 2.35 to 4.06), Investigator's Global Assessment scores of 0 or 1 (IGA 0/1) (OR = 65.75, 95% CI = 45.54 to 94.95; OR = 2.79, 95% CI = 2.17 to 3.59), and Dermatology Life Quality Index scores of 0 or 1 (DLQI 0/1) (OR = 29.64, 95% CI = 18.80 to 46.73; OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.50 to 2.31). The guselkumab had similar safety with placebo or adalimumab about the incidence of adverse events (AEs) (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 0.86 to 1.29; OR = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.79 to 1.19) and serious adverse events (SAEs) (OR = 1.03, 95% CI = 0.47 to 2.27; OR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.44 to 1.87). Meanwhile, there was no statistically significant association of infections and serious infections compared with the placebo or adalimumab group. The guselkumab was more effective and had the similar tolerance.

Conclusion

The guselkumab had excellent efficacy and great safety in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, but long-term safety remained to be determined.