Despite the increased use of drug-eluting stents (DES), the incidence of in-stent restenosis (ISR) requiring target vessel revascularization remains unacceptably high (1,2). The incidence rate of ISR requiring target vessel revascularization (ie, 'DES failure') in the United States alone was conservatively estimated to be 10%, and may be more common in patients with diabetes mellitus (3). Although the pathophysiology of DES failure is complex, histopathological changes of in-stent neointima following directional atherectomy at the time of reintervention have been shown to be remarkably similar between bare-metal stents (BMS) and DES, suggesting that a process mediated by the endothelial injury, inflammation, proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), and thrombosis plays the same important role in the progress of ISR of DES (4,5). In addition, antiproliferative drugs in DES, primarily aimed at preventing VSMC proliferation (which is central to the pathogenesis of ISR), also perturb endothelial recovery (6), which consequently increases the risk for subacute in-stent thrombosis and results in late stent thrombosis (ST) (7). Furthermore, polymer coatings on DES induce a distinct inflammatory reaction compared with bare metal surfaces (8). These results raise serious questions regarding the long-term durability and efficacy of DES, thereby resulting in an urgent need to develop new therapies to prevent restenosis. The present review focuses on the progress made to date in the use of gene therapy, including catheter-based gene delivery and gene-eluting stents (GES), to prevent ISR. We will also discuss the current and promising application of magnetic targeting gene delivery systems for antirestenosis therapy.
Evolution of antirEstEnosis thErapyIn the past several decades, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasties have revolutionized the treatment of atherosclerosis-related cardiovascular disease. At the same time, tremendous efforts have also been made to reduce the incidence of restenosis after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasties (9). During the time in which 'plain old balloon angioplasty' was prevalent, rates of acute and chronic vessel occlusion were higher (30% to 56%), secondary to acute/chronic recoil and constrictive remodelling (10). These problems led to the development of a second revolutionary treatment, BMS, which were first implanted in 1986 (11). Although this 'bailout' scaffold significantly reduced the issue of acute and chronic recoil, its application was ultimately hampered by the risk for subacute thrombotic coronary artery occlusion and neointimal hyperplasia (12). The restenosis rates with BMS were reported to be between 16% and 44%, with higher rates of stenosis attributable to several risk factors, particularly long lesion length and small vessel calibre (1,13). Considerable progress to reduce the incidence of restenosis was made by the advent of DES, which are composed of a metallic stent, a polymer-based drug delivery platform and a pharmacolog...