Immunotherapy for atherosclerosis: an emerging paradigm.

Experimental and clinical studies have implicated the immune system in atherogenesis and its complications. Recent studies have identified a complex dual role for the immune system: some aspects of the system play a proatherogenic role, whereas other aspects are atheroprotective. Suppression of proatherogenic immune responses and activation of antiatherogenic immune responses promise to emerge as novel strategies for the prevention and treatment of atherosclerotic vascular disease.