Jiang Huan, Na Chen, Yangfan Zhu, Yufang Bi, Runxu Yang, Rongxuan Yang, Hongming Yang, Meng Niu, Xiaoshan Huang, Juan Yang
Palmitic acid (PA) is a 16-carbon long-chain saturated fatty acid (SFA) in the human body and a major component of dietary SFAs. PA plays a significant regulatory role in the pathogenesis and progression of various diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The human body acquires PA through endogenous de novo synthesis and exogenous dietary intake, and its concentration in plasma is relatively stable; however, the concentration of PA can increase several-fold in the plasma of patients with CVD. This review focuses on the biosynthetic pathways of PA and its mechanistic involvement in atherosclerosis (AS), ischemic heart disease (IHD), and ischemic stroke (IS). Elucidating the mechanistic contributions of PA to these disease processes may provide critical insights for developing novel targeted therapies.