Targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome to treat cardiovascular fibrosis.

Cardiovascular fibrosis refers to the scar tissue that develops in the injured heart and blood vessels from an aberrant wound healing response to organ injury or insult. Established fibrosis becomes a hallmark of chronic disease progression and a key contributor to tissue stiffness and dysfunction, which ultimately leads to heart failure. As wound healing and fibrotic responses to myocardial injury are multifactorial processes, current therapies that only target specific contributing factors to disease pathogenesis offer limited overall anti-fibrotic efficacy.