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Atherosclerosis: humoral and cellular factors of inflammation

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Abstract

In the past decade, atherosclerosis has come to be recognized as active and inflammatory rather than simply a passive process of lipid infiltration or a reparative process after endothelial injury. In general, atherosclerosis can be considered as an intramural chronic inflammation resulting from interactions between modified lipoproteins, monocyte-derived macrophages, lymphocytes, and the normal cellular elements of the arterial wall. The process of inflammation occurs in response to functional and structural injury through a variety of known and unknown stimuli and is active over years and decades. Here, we review recent experimental and human studies of inflammatory mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Universitätsklinikum, Klinikstr. 36, 35392, Giessen, Germany

    A. C. Langheinrich

  2. Department of Pathology, Universitätsklinikum, Langhansstrasse 10, 35392, Giessen, Germany

    R. M. Bohle

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  1. A. C. Langheinrich
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  2. R. M. Bohle
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Correspondence to R. M. Bohle.

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Langheinrich, A.C., Bohle, R.M. Atherosclerosis: humoral and cellular factors of inflammation. Virchows Arch 446, 101–111 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-004-1180-4

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