Humoral and cellular immune responses in atherosclerosis: Spotlight on B- and T-cells

Abstract

Despite more than 1 million basic and clinical investigation reports on the mechanism and clinical outcome of cardiovascular events, the pathogenesis of this multi factorial disease is still incompletely understood, which is illustrated by the fact that it is still the leading cause of death in the western world. Over the decades it has been well approved that in addition to lipid dysfunction and arterial lipid accumulation, inflammation and autoimmune responses are major factors in directing the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis, the underlying cause of cardiovascular diseases. Atherosclerosis involves both humoral and cellular compartments of innate and adaptive immunity making it a very complex disease. This review discusses the innate and adaptive immune responses in atherosclerosis, with a focus on T- and B-cell mediated processes.