The VISTA-16 trial of varespladib, a secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) inhibitor, in patients with an acute coronary syndrome was terminated prematurely owing to futility and a signal towards harm. Despite these discouraging results, therapies that target inflammation to modify pathways in atherogenesis remain an area of active investigation.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$189.00 per year
only $15.75 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References
Nicholls, S. J. et al. Varespladib and cardiovascular events in patients with an acute coronary syndrome: the VISTA-16 randomized clinical trial. JAMA http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2013.282836.
Mallat, Z., Lambeau, G. & Tedgui, A. Lipoprotein-associated and secreted phospholipases A2 in cardiovascular disease: roles as biological effectors and biomarkers. Circulation 122, 2183–2200 (2010).
Rosenson, R. S. & Hurt-Camejo, E. Phospholipase A2 enzymes and the risk of atherosclerosis. Eur. Heart J. 33, 2899–2909 (2012).
Shaposhnik, Z., Wang, X., Trias, J., Fraser, H. & Lusis, A. J. The synergistic inhibition of atherogenesis in apoE−/− mice between pravastatin and the sPLA2 inhibitor varespladib (A-002). J. Lipid Res. 50, 623–629 (2009).
Fujioka, D. et al. Reduction in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in group X secretory phospholipase A2-deficient mice. Circulation 117, 2977–2985 (2008).
Cannon, C. P. et al. Intensive versus moderate lipid lowering with statins after acute coronary syndromes. N. Engl. J. Med. 350, 1495–1504 (2004).
Schwartz, G. G. et al. Effects of atorvastatin on early recurrent ischemic events in acute coronary syndromes: the MIRACL study: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 285, 1711–1718 (2001).
Dzavik, V. et al. The sPLA2 Inhibition to Decrease Enzyme Release after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (SPIDER-PCI) trial. Circulation 122, 2411–2418 (2010).
Holmes, M. V. et al. Secretory phospholipase A2-IIA and cardiovascular disease: a Mendelian randomization study. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 62, 1966–1976 (2013).
GlaxoSmithKline. GSK announces top-line results from pivotal Phase III study of darapladib in chronic coronary heart disease [online], (2013).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
M. L. O'Donoghue has acted as a consultant for Aegerion, and has received grants/research support from AstraZeneca, Genzyme, and GlaxoSmithKline.
PowerPoint slides
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
O'Donoghue, M. Targeting inflammation—what has the VISTA-16 trial taught us?. Nat Rev Cardiol 11, 130–132 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2013.220
Published:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2013.220