REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1626566
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Vascular System: Effects of Traditional Medicines and Mechanism of ActionView all 17 articles
Regulation of pyroptosis by natural products in atherosclerosis: mechanisms and therapeutic potential
Provisionally accepted
- 1Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
- 2First Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Pyroptosis, a proinflammatory form of programmed cell death characterized by inflammasome activation and gasdermin-mediated membrane pore formation, has been recognized as a critical contributor to the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis (AS). Increasing evidence indicates that pyroptosis accelerates plaque formation and rupture by promoting endothelial dysfunction, vascular smooth muscle cell loss, and destabilization of macrophage-derived foam cells. Given its pivotal role in AS pathogenesis, modulation of pyroptotic signaling pathways is considered a highly promising therapeutic strategy. Natural products derived from medicinal plants and dietary sources possess multiple biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and lipid-regulating effects, and their potential to target pyroptosis in cardiovascular diseases has attracted growing attention in recent years. This review systematically summarizes current advances in understanding the regulatory effects of natural products on pyroptosis in AS. Representative compounds, including polyphenols, flavonoids, saponins, and alkaloids, have been shown in AS animal models to inhibit inflammasome assembly, block gasdermin cleavage, and restore vascular homeostasis. This review focuses on elucidating the mechanisms and therapeutic potential of natural products in regulating pyroptosis in AS, aiming to provide a reference for their application in AS treatment and to lay a foundation for the development of effective new drugs for AS prevention and management.
Keywords: Atherosclerosis, pyroptosis, mechanisms, Natural Products, Traditional Chinese Medicine
Received: 11 May 2025; Accepted: 13 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Shi, Wei, Wang, Sun, Yang and Zhou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jianfei Yang, First Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
Yabin Zhou, First Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.