Review

Nature Reviews Immunology 8, 802-815 (October 2008) | doi:10.1038/nri2415

The multifaceted contributions of leukocyte subsets to atherosclerosis: lessons from mouse models

Christian Weber1, Alma Zernecke1 & Peter Libby2  About the authors

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Chronic inflammation drives the development of atherosclerosis, and details regarding the involvement of different leukocyte subpopulations in the pathology of this disease have recently emerged. This Review highlights the surprising contribution of granulocyte subsets and mast cells to early atherogenesis and subsequent plaque instability, and describes the complex, double-edged role of monocyte, macrophage and dendritic-cell subsets through crosstalk with T cells and vascular progenitor cells. Improved understanding of the selective contributions of specific cell types to atherogenesis will pave the way for new targeted approaches to therapy.

Author affiliations

  1. Institute for Molecular Cardiovascular Research, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
  2. Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.

Correspondence to: Christian Weber1 Email: cweber@ukaachen.de

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