Regulatory lymphocytes: how do they protect against atherosclerosis?

Dissecting the contribution of regulatory lymphocytes in human atherosclerosis: exploring new avenues to clinical applications

A group of immune cells known as lymphocytes are important in atherosclerosis - the build-up of fatty deposits called plaques in blood vessel walls which causes coronary heart disease. But other types of lymphocyte, called regulatory lymphocytes, can protect against atherosclerosis in animal models of disease. Scientists have found that these beneficial regulatory lymphocytes may be defective and lose their protective actions in people with atherosclerosis but they don’t yet know how. Dr Ingrid Dumitriu has now been awarded a three year grant to study these regulatory lymphocytes from patients with heart disease and find out why these cells lose their ability to protect against atherosclerosis. Understanding how atherosclerosis develops and what controls plaque rupture will help researchers develop new medicines to treat this life threatening condition in the future.