Induction of Lipid-Lowering Immune Reactions by Apolipoprotein B-specific T-helper Cells in Hypercholesterolemic Mice

Background and Aims: Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is a chronic inflammatory process initiated when cholesterol-carrying low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is retained in the arterial wall. CD4+ T cells, some of which recognize peptide components of LDL as antigen, are recruited to the forming lesion, resulting in T-cell activation. We aimed to study the systemic implications of these responses since they are incompletely characterized.