ANGPTL2 - A New Causal Player in Accelerating Heart Disease Development in the Aging.

In parallel with the increase in the number of elderly people worldwide, the number of patients with heart disease is also rapidly increasing. Of the heart diseases, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and heart failure (HF) are strongly associated with adverse health outcomes that decrease productivity in later years. Recently, ANGPTL2, a secreted glycoprotein and member of the angiopoietin-like protein family, has received attention as a causal player in the development of CVD and HF. Prolonged ANGPTL2 autocrine/paracrine signaling in vascular tissue leads to chronic inflammation and pathologic tissue remodeling, accelerating CVD development. Excess ANGPTL2 autocrine/paracrine signaling induced in the pathologically stressed heart accelerates cardiac dysfunction by decreasing myocardial energy metabolism. Conversely, ANGPTL2 inactivation in vascular tissue and the heart delays development or progression of CVD and HF, respectively. Moreover, there is increased evidence for an association between elevated circulating ANGPTL2 levels and CVD and HF. Interestingly, ANGPTL2 expression is also associated with cellular senescence, which may promote premature aging and development of aging-associated diseases, including CVD and HF. Overall, ANGPTL2 autocrine/paracrine signaling is a new factor in accelerating heart disease development in the aging. Here, we focus on current topics relevant to ANGPTL2 function in heart disease.