The Role of Immune Cells in Carotid Artery Disease
A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X). This special issue belongs to the section "Biological Factors".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 14 August 2026 | Viewed by 5
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Carotid artery disease develops from atherosclerotic plaque, which has a strong inflammatory component. This disease accounts for the majority of published human atherosclerosis studies, because discarded surgical endarterectomy material is readily available at many hospitals. In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in evidence of autoimmunity in atherosclerosis based on clonal expansion of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Some atherosclerosis-relevant epitopes have been identified in apolipoprotein B, the core protein of low-density lipoprotein and chylomicrons. Most of the progress in this field stems from single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq), with some studies identifying cell surface markers using CITE-Seq, and some employing T cell receptor (TCR) α and β sequencing (TCR-Seq) or ATAC-Seq. Some studies also report sc transcriptomes of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). In addition to immune cells, transcriptomes of smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells in carotid lesions are highly informative. Smooth muscle cells undergo phenotypic changes from contractile to secretory, and some transdifferentiate to myofibroblasts. This Special Issue aims to present contributions from leading laboratories in the field, with an emphasis on the need for stringent quality controls and the limitations of current methods. The role of sex, age, and race on carotid artery disease is poorly understood; as such, we also aim to discuss the role mouse models can play in elucidating mechanisms of carotid artery disease.
Prof. Dr. Klaus Ley
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- carotid artery
- endarterectomy
- atherosclerosis
- macrophage
- lymphocytes
- T cells
- autoimmunity
- smooth muscle cells
- endothelial cells
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