Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory arterial pathogenic condition, which leads to ischemic cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction, stroke, and peripheral arterial disease. Atherosclerosis is a multifactorial disorder and its pathophysiology is highly complex. Changes in expression of multiple genes coupled with environmental and lifestyle factors initiate cascades of adverse events involving multiple types of cells (e.g. vascular endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and macrophages). IGF-1 is a pleiotropic factor, which is found in the circulation (endocrine IGF-1) and is also produced locally in arteries (endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells). IGF-1 exerts a variety of effects on these cell types in the context of the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. In fact, there is an increasing body of evidence suggesting that IGF-1 has beneficial effects on the biology of atherosclerosis. This review will discuss recent findings relating to clinical investigations on the relation between IGF-1 and cardiovascular disease and basic research using animal models of atherosclerosis that have elucidated some of the mechanisms underlying atheroprotective effects of IGF-1.

动脉粥样硬化是一种炎性动脉病原性疾病，会导致缺血性心血管疾病，例如冠状动脉疾病和心肌梗塞，中风和外周动脉疾病。动脉粥样硬化是一种多因素疾病，其病理生理高度复杂。多种基因表达的变化与环境和生活方式因素相结合，引发了一系列涉及多种细胞（例如血管内皮细胞，平滑肌细胞和巨噬细胞）的不良事件。IGF-1是多效性因子，存在于循环中（内分泌IGF-1），也可在动脉（内皮细胞和平滑肌细胞）中局部产生。在动脉粥样硬化的发病机制中，IGF-1对这些细胞类型具有多种作用。事实上，越来越多的证据表明，IGF-1对动脉粥样硬化的生物学有有益作用。这篇综述将讨论有关IGF-1与心血管疾病之间关系的临床研究以及使用动脉粥样硬化动物模型进行基础研究的最新发现，这些研究阐明了IGF-1的抗动脉粥样硬化作用的一些机制。