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Mapping the functions of IgM antibodies in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease

Nature Reviews Cardiology volume 20, pages 433–434 (2023)Cite this article

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IgM antibodies have gained much attention as risk markers of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, but the exact antigenic determinants and the full spectrum of functions remain to be defined. A better understanding of the potentially diverse nature of the antigens that they recognize will help to dissect the function of IgM in atherosclerosis.

In clinical practice, serum antibody measurements are typically used to diagnose and monitor diseases such as infections or autoimmunity. The notion of atherosclerosis as an immune–inflammatory disease with a profound contribution from B cell immunity has sparked interest in the potential role of antibodies in atherosclerotic plaque formation1,2. Importantly, atherosclerotic plaques are replete with immunoglobulins (including IgM and IgG), suggesting that these immunoglobulins recognize specific antigens, such as oxidized low-density lipoproteins (oxLDLs), that are present or generated in atherosclerotic arteries. Indeed, some of the immunoglobulins isolated from human atherosclerotic plaques have been shown to bind to oxLDL3. However, similar evidence for other proposed plaque antigens and a better characterization of plaque-deposited immune complexes are lacking.

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Fig. 1: Natural IgM in atherosclerosis.

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Acknowledgements

C.J.B. was supported by grants from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF SFB F54), the Leducq Foundation (TNE-20CVD03) and the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (LS18-090). The authors thank Dimitrios Tsiantoulas and Florentina Porsch (both at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria) for providing critical comments.

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  1. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Justine Deroissart & Christoph J. Binder

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  1. Justine Deroissart
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Correspondence to Christoph J. Binder.

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Deroissart, J., Binder, C.J. Mapping the functions of IgM antibodies in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Nat Rev Cardiol 20, 433–434 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-023-00888-w

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