Animal models of vasculitis. Lessons we can learn to improve our understanding of Kawasaki disease.

Kawasaki disease is an inflammatory illness of unknown etiology which is often complicated by coronary arteritis. Systematic study of the pathologically similar coronary arteritis induced in mice by a single intraperitoneal injection of Lactobacillus casei cell wall fragments may provide useful clues to the pathogenesis and appropriate treatment of Kawasaki disease. Studies of mouse strains with inbred immune deficiencies suggest that the coronary artery lesions may result from macrophage-mediated injury rather than immune complexes or a disturbance of T cell or B cell function.