Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, especially when sudden events such as a heart attack or a stroke occur. Every year, heart attacks and strokes worldwide cause about 9 and 7 million deaths respectively.
A major underlying cause of these diseases is a process called atherosclerosis. In this condition, cholesterol and immune cells slowly build up inside the walls of larger blood vessels. This build-up forms a layer called a plaque. Plaques can grow silently for many years without causing any symptoms. However, at some point a plaque can become unstable and rupture. When this happens, a blood clot can form and block an artery. If this blockage occurs in the heart, it causes a heart attack. If it happens in the brain, it causes a stroke.
Many details of how these plaques form are still not fully understood. Current treatments mainly focus on lowering cholesterol levels with drugs called statins, but these treatments do not fully prevent the problem. The exact role of the immune system in plaque formation is still unclear.
Our immune system protects us against infections. It has two parts: a fast, general defense, called innate immunity and a slower, more specific defense, the natural immunity. The natural immunity system mainly involves T cells and B cells, which can recognize and fight viruses and harmful substances (antigens) very precisely.
In rare cases, however, some B cells can become misdirected. Instead of protecting the body, they start attacking the body’s own tissues. This can lead to long-lasting inflammatory reactions.
This harmful process may also play an important role in the formation of plaques in blood vessels. These misdirected B cells, called autoreactive B cells (ABC’s), may gather inside plaques and contribute to their growth and instability.
If we can better understand how this happens, we may be able to identify marker molecules in the blood that signal when a plaque is becoming unstable. This could help doctors predict who is at risk of having a heart attack or stroke. In the future, this knowledge may also help develop new treatments to reduce these risks.
The B-specific consortium, a group of scientists from several European countries is closely working together to study how certain immune cells contribute to atherosclerosis and its detrimental effect. Their research focuses on autoreactive B cells. By learning how these cells and their connected signaling substances affect plaque formation, the researchers aim to develop new diagnostic tools and treatments to better protect people with cardiovascular disease.
