Whitman Stewart C, Ramsamy Tanya A
Department of Pathology, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, ON, Canada.
Can J Physiol Pharmacol. 2006 Jan;84(1):67-75. doi: 10.1139/y05-159.
Atherosclerosis is a multifactor, highly complex disease with numerous aetiologies that work synergistically to promote lesion development. One of the emerging components that drive the development of both early- and late-stage atherosclerotic lesions is the participation of both the innate and acquired immune systems. In both humans and animal models of atherosclerosis, the most prominent cells that infiltrate evolving lesions are macrophages and T lymphocytes. The functional loss of either of these cell types reduces the extent of atherosclerosis in mice that were rendered susceptible to the disease by deficiency of either apolipoprotein E or the LDL (low density lipoprotein) receptor. In addition to these major immune cell participants, a number of less prominent leukocyte populations that can modulate the atherogenic process are also involved. This review will focus on the participatory role of two "less prominent" immune components, namely natural killer (NK) cells and natural killer T (NKT) cells. Although this review will highlight the fact that both NK and NKT cells are not sufficient for causing the disease, the roles played by both these cells types are becoming increasingly important in understanding the complexity of this disease process.
动脉粥样硬化是一种多因素、高度复杂的疾病，有多种病因协同作用促进病变发展。驱动早期和晚期动脉粥样硬化病变发展的新出现的因素之一是先天免疫系统和后天免疫系统的参与。在人类和动脉粥样硬化动物模型中，浸润正在形成的病变的最主要细胞是巨噬细胞和T淋巴细胞。这两种细胞类型中任何一种的功能丧失都会减轻因载脂蛋白E或低密度脂蛋白（LDL）受体缺乏而易患该疾病的小鼠的动脉粥样硬化程度。除了这些主要的免疫细胞参与者外，一些不太突出但能调节致动脉粥样硬化过程的白细胞群体也参与其中。本综述将聚焦于两种“不太突出”的免疫成分，即自然杀伤（NK）细胞和自然杀伤T（NKT）细胞的参与作用。尽管本综述将强调NK细胞和NKT细胞都不足以引发该疾病这一事实，但这两种细胞类型所起的作用在理解这一疾病过程的复杂性方面正变得越来越重要。
