Xinjie Lu and Vijay Kakkar Pages 108 - 124 ( 17 )
Atherosclerosis is a progressive disease starting with accumulation of lipids, lipoproteins, and immune cells in the arterial wall. Inflammation and the innate immune response are involved in the formation of early atherosclerotic lesion. A protein complex known as the inflammasome is stimulated to activate interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-18, which are responsible for activation of inflammatory processes. Inflammasome-mediated processes are important in the process of atherosclerosis. The front of structure domains as well as IL-1, and IL-18 stands at the threshold of the adaptive immune response that accelerates full-blown atherosclerotic disease progression. This review is intended to provide new insights into the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and indicate new potential molecular targets for therapy of this disease.
Inflammasome, atherosclerosis, atherosgenesis, autophagy, caspase.
, Thrombosis Research Institute, London, SW3 6LR.