Future potential biomarkers for postinterventional restenosis and accelerated atherosclerosis.
New circulating and local arterial biomarkers may help the clinician with risk stratification or diagnostic assessment of patients and selecting the proper therapy for a patient. In addition, they may be used for follow-up and testing efficacy of therapy, which is not possible with current biomarkers. Processes leading to postinterventional restenosis and accelerated atherosclerosis are complex due to the many biological variables mediating the specific inflammatory and immunogenic responses involved. Adequate assessment of these processes requires different and more specific biomarkers. Postinterventional remodeling is associated with cell stress and tissue damage causing apoptosis, release of damage-associated molecular patterns and upregulation of specific cytokines/chemokines that could serve as suitable clinical biomarkers. Furthermore, plasma titers of pathophysiological process-related (auto)antibodies could aid in the identification of restenosis risk or lesion severity. This review provides an overview of a number of potential biomarkers selected on the basis of their role in the remodeling process.