Prevention of Vascular Aging as a Novel Paradigm for GLP-1 Receptor Agonist–Mediated Cardioprotection

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) have revolutionized the management of type 2 diabetes and obesity. Due to class-wide reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events in cardiovascular outcome trials and pleiotropic actions in multiple tissues, the use of GLP-1RAs has expanded beyond metabolic diseases. Recent studies have reported GLP-1RA efficacy for the treatment of atherosclerosis, heart failure and peripheral artery disease, alongside evolving potential in chronic kidney disease. The recent discovery that GLP-1RAs can improve vascular regenerative progenitor cell flux during type 2 diabetes has uncovered a novel mechanism implicating 3 classical hallmarks of vascular aging: (1) stem cell exhaustion, (2) altered intercellular communication, and (3) chronic systemic inflammation. In this review we discuss recent evidence demonstrating that imbalances in hematopoiesis during cardiometabolic diseases intersect with the senescence-associated secretory phenotype to elevate chronic inflammation and accelerate vascular aging. With a focus on stem cells as the master regulators of regenerative processes, we integrate the activities of GLP-1RAs that shift the balance from damage accumulation to repair competence in blood vessels prematurely aged by cardiometabolic syndrome.