Advanced atherosclerotic plaques in animal models versus human lesions: Key elements to translation

Animal models have been extensively used to understand atherogenesis and the complex biological mechanisms of atherosclerosis. Yet, their advanced plaque morphologies may have distinct features from human coronary lesions and strikingly, they often do not lead to acute cardiac events, at least in mice models. These particularities will be presented in the major models of advanced plaques together with their respective specific localizations. Next, in light of recent major translational advances regarding the role of inflammation in plaque vulnerability, the main findings from animal models to human applications will be given, opening new diagnoses and therapeutic targets. Finally, biomechanics has mainly been evaluated in human plaques, but differences and similarities between animal models and human lesions shed new light on prediction markers of acute events.