Atherosclerosis and autoimmunity: a growing relationship

Atherosclerosis is regarded as one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in the world. Nowadays, it seems that atherosclerosis cannot be defined merely through the Framingham traditional risk factors and that autoimmunity settings exert a remarkable role in its mechanobiology. Individuals with autoimmune disorders show enhanced occurrence of cardiovascular complications and subclinical atherosclerosis. The mechanisms underlying the atherosclerosis in disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, antiphospholipid syndrome, systemic sclerosis and Sjögren's syndrome, seem to be the classical risk factors. However, chronic inflammatory processes and abnormal immune function may also be involved in atherosclerosis development. Autoantigens, autoantibodies, infectious agents and pro-inflammatory mediators exert a role in that process. Being armed with the mechanisms underlying autoimmunity in the etiopathogenesis of atherosclerosis in rheumatic autoimmune disorders and the shared etiologic pathway may result in substantial developing therapeutics for these patients.