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Updated: May 13, 2026

Flow Cytometry Analysis of Immune Cells Within Murine Aortas
Published on: July 1, 2011
Thymic stromal lymphopoietin over-expressed in human atherosclerosis: potential role in Th17 differentiation
Jing Lin1, Wei Chang, Jiangchuan Dong
1Department of Cardiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Background:
Adaptive immunity plays a critical role in atherosclerosis and T helper 17 (Th17) cells, a new T-cell lineage, are recently reported to be involved in atherosclerosis. However, the mechanism underlying Th17 inflammation in atherosclerosis remains largely unknown. Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is a novel IL-7-like cytokine and mainly responsible for Th2 inflammation in many inflammatory diseases.
Methods And Results:
Immunohistochemistry showed that TSLP over-expressed in human atherosclerotic lesion and could be induced by ox-LDL in human vascular smooth muscle cells (HVSMCs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). TSLP, in turn, could activate dendritic cells (DCs) to differentiate Th17 inflammation in naive CD4(+) T cells.
Conclusion:
TSLP induced by ox-LDL could promote Th17 immune response in vitro, which may be implicated in Th17 inflammation in atherosclerosis.
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