Advances in the study of S100A9 in cardiovascular diseases

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a group of diseases that primarily affect the heart or blood vessels, with high disability and mortality rates, posing a serious threat to human health. The causative factors, pathogenesis, and characteristics of common CVD differ, but they all involve common pathological processes such as inflammation, oxidative stress, and fibrosis. S100A9 belongs to the S100 family of calcium‐binding proteins, which are mainly secreted by myeloid cells and bind to the Toll‐like receptor 4 and receptor for advanced glycation end products and is involved in regulating pathological processes such as inflammatory response, fibrosis, vascular calcification, and endothelial barrier function in CVD. The latest research has found that S100A9 is a key biomarker for diagnosing and predicting various CVD. Therefore, this article reviews the latest research progress on the diagnostic and predictive, and therapeutic value of S100A9 in inflammatory‐related CVD such as atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, and arterial aneurysm and summarizes its molecular mechanisms in the progression of CVD, aiming to explore new predictive methods and to identify potential intervention targets for CVD in clinical practice. S100A9 is released by immune and tissue cells in response to stressors such as damage, inflammation, and oxidative stress. This leads to the amplification of inflammation, anti‐inflammatory effects, induction of endothelial dysfunction, promotion of vascular microcalcification, as well as stimulation of cell proliferation, autophagy, apoptosis, and death. S100A9 can serve as a biomarker for diagnosis, prediction, and evaluation of cardiovascular diseases, and it is also considered a potential therapeutic target.