title: A vital role for complement in heart disease.
abstract: Heart diseases are common and significant contributors to worldwide mortality and morbidity. During recent years complement mediated inflammation has been shown to be an important player in a variety of heart diseases. Despite some negative results from clinical trials using complement inhibitors, emerging evidence points to an association between the complement system and heart diseases. Thus, complement seems to be important in coronary heart disease as well as in heart failure, where several studies underscore the prognostic importance of complement activation. Furthermore, patients with atrial fibrillation often share risk factors both with coronary heart disease and heart failure, and there is some evidence implicating complement activation in atrial fibrillation. Moreover, Chagas heart disease, a protozoal infection, is an important cause of heart failure in Latin America, and the complement system is crucial for the protozoa-host interaction. Thus, complement activation appears to be involved in the pathophysiology of a diverse range of cardiac conditions. Determination of the exact role of complement in the various heart diseases will hopefully help to identify patients that might benefit from therapeutic complement intervention.
authors.affiliation: Coronary Care Unit, Division of Internal Medicine, Nordland Hospital, Bodø, Norway; Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: Knut T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Lappegård
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Department of Clinical Immunology, Section 7631 Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Garred
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jonasson
authors.affiliation: Centre of Molecular Inflammation Research, Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Terje
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Espevik
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Internal Medicine, Section of Clinical Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway; K.J. Jebsen Inflammation Research Centre, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Pål
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aukrust
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Internal Medicine, Section of Clinical Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway; K.J. Jebsen Inflammation Research Centre, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Arne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yndestad
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway; Centre of Molecular Inflammation Research, Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; K.J. Jebsen Inflammation Research Centre, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Research Laboratory, Nordland Hospital, Bodø, Norway; Department of Immunology, Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Tom E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Mollnes
authors.affiliation: Coronary Care Unit, Division of Internal Medicine, Nordland Hospital, Bodø, Norway; Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway. Electronic address: anders.w.hovland@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hovland
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D003165:Complement System Proteins
keywords: Atrial fibrillation; Chagas disease; Complement system; Coronary heart disease; Heart failure; Myocardial infarction