IL1B and atherosclerosis: The binding of succinate to SUCNR1, which is expressed in human umbilical vein endothelial cells and macrophages, activates the transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α, stimulates the succinate/IL-1β signaling axis, promotes the expression of IL-1β to produce excess pro-inflammatory cytokines, and exacerbates the inflammatory process of atherosclerosis (Tannahill et al., 2013; Xu et al., 2022).