What we already know:

1
Atherosclerosis
What we already know

• Caused by fatty material and cholesterol
  thickens, hardens (from calcium deposits) and
  possibly block the arteries.
• Symptoms (NOTE arent noticed until blood flow
  is restricted or blocked) Abdominal aortic
  aneurysm, Coronary artery disease, kidney
  disease, Peripheral artery disease, Hypertension,
  Stroke, or Thoracic aortic aneurysm.
• Treatment Life-style changes avoid fatty
  foods,
• Dont drink more than 1 or 2 alcoholic beverages
  a
• day, exercise regularly, get BP checked, and
• cholesterol checked.

2
Insufficient blood flow to the heart will
initially cause angina, or otherwise known as a
specific type of chest pain.
Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like material, which
adds to the plaque.
3
Inflammation in Disease Connection of
Atherosclerosis and the Immune System

• 4 Hallmarks of Inflammation
• Swelling
• Heat
• Redness
• Pain

4
Atherosclerosis is a disease of the arteries in
which fatty material and plaque are deposited in
the wall of an artery, resulting in narrowing of
the arterial lumen and eventual impairment of
blood flow.
5
Interleukins
Any of a class of proteins that are secreted
mostly by macrophages and T lymphocytes and
induce growth and differentiation of lymphocytes
and hematopoietic stem cells.
6
Interleukins in Atherosclerosis
IL-4 found in atherosclerotic and non
atherosclerotic. They have a role in remolding
tissue (smooth muscle cells) During
atherosclerosis, Th2 cells are less abundant, and
production of anti-inflammatory, atheroprotective
cytokines such as IL-10 by these cells is too low
to prevent plaque formation Interleukin 12
inducer of T-helper cell cytokine pattern
contributor to atherosclerosis IL-12 is produced
by monocytes, neutrophils, dendritic cells, and
macrophages when these are acted upon by
pathogens. Therefore, IL12 along with IL18 are
inducers of proinflammatory cytokine, which have
aggravating effects on atherosclerosis.
7
Inflammation
Inflammation is the process by which the body
responds to injury or an infection, which have
C-reactive proteins that increase during
inflammation. Heart disease studies are
changing, as these possibilities are being
discovered. CPR levels in the blood is an
additional way of looking at the risk of heart
disease risk. The American Heart Association
and the Center of Disease Control and Prevention
published in 2003, a statement on the use of
inflammatory markers in clinical and public
health practices. This is after realizing the
significance of inflammatory markers and heart
disease and stroke.
8
Bringing it all together
Several approaches the transfer of
anti-inflammatory interleukins and the
administration of decoys and antibodies directed
against proinflammatory interleukins,
anti-atherogenic therapies, are going in the
direction of modulation of interleukin functions.

This will demand high specificity of action
and/or effective targeting to prevent the
emergence of adverse side effects with such
treatments.