Obesity drives chronic low-grade inflammation and endothelial dysfunction, key contributors to subclinical atherosclerosis. This review focuses on the netrin 1/UNC5B axis and its role in promoting macrophage retention within adipose tissue and atherosclerotic plaques, thereby perpetuating local inflammation and vascular injury. Complementary inflammatory markers—including IL 6, hsCRP, and IL 15—are discussed as indicators of systemic inflammatory burden, whereas endocan and ICAM 1 are briefly addressed as markers of endothelial activation. Among emerging pharmacological strategies, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP 1RAs) and sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) show the most consistent evidence for improving these biomarkers and reducing endothelial damage, with GLP 1RAs demonstrating direct effects on carotid intima–media thickness. Integrating biomarker profiling with obesity phenotypes may improve early risk stratification and support more precise management of subclinical atherosclerosis.
Bojórquez-González et al. (Tue,) studied this question.