Immunomodulation of vascular diseases: atherosclerosis and autoimmunity

The autoimmune disease atherosclerosis contributes to several vascular complications. Besides vascular cells, inflammatory cells occur prominently in atherosclerotic lesions; lymphocytes play a detrimental role in the initiation and progression of this common vascular disease. Recent discoveries have led to the identification of several important lymphocyte types within the atherosclerotic lesions. However, peripheral lymphocytes and those in the lymphoid organs both figure critically in the regulation of atherosclerotic lesion growth. Although the concept of atherosclerosis as an autoimmune disease is well known, the ways in which autoantigens and autoantibodies contribute to atherogenesis in human or even in animal models remains largely unknown. For example, autoantigen immunisation can either promote or attenuate atherogenesis in animals, depending on the antigen types and the routes and carriers of immunisation. This article summarises recent findings regarding lesion inflammatory cell types, autoantigens and autoantibody isotypes that can affect the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis from both human and animal studies.