title: The role of heat shock proteins in atherosclerosis.
abstract: Atherosclerosis is a chronic, multifactorial disease that starts in youth, manifests clinically later in life, and can lead to myocardial infarction, stroke, claudication, and death. Although inflammatory processes have long been known to be involved in atherogenesis, interest in this subject has grown in the past 30-40 years. Animal experiments and human analyses of early atherosclerotic lesions have shown that the first pathogenic event in atherogenesis is the intimal infiltration of T cells at arterial branching points. These T cells recognize heat shock protein (HSP)60, which is expressed together with adhesion molecules by endothelial cells in response to classic risk factors for atherosclerosis. Although these HSP60-reactive T cells initiate atherosclerosis, antibodies to HSP60 accelerate and perpetuate the disease. All healthy humans develop cellular and humoral immunity against microbial HSP60 by infection or vaccination. Given that prokaryotic (bacterial) and eukaryotic (for instance, human) HSP60 display substantial sequence homology, atherosclerosis might be the price we pay for this protective immunity, if risk factors stress the vascular endothelial cells beyond physiological conditions.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Autoimmunity, Section for Experimental Pathophysiology and Immunology, Biocenter, Innsbruck Medical University, Peter-Mayr-Strasse 1a, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wick
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Autoimmunity, Section for Experimental Pathophysiology and Immunology, Biocenter, Innsbruck Medical University, Peter-Mayr-Strasse 1a, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: Bojana
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jakic
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Autoimmunity, Section for Experimental Pathophysiology and Immunology, Biocenter, Innsbruck Medical University, Peter-Mayr-Strasse 1a, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: Maja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buszko
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Karolinska University Hospital, Karolinska Vägen, Solna 17176 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Marius C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Wick
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Autoimmunity, Section for Experimental Pathophysiology and Immunology, Biocenter, Innsbruck Medical University, Peter-Mayr-Strasse 1a, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grundtman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D018834:Chaperonin 60 / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D018834:Chaperonin 60; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins