Chronic inflammation is a suspected cause of the formation of atherosclerotic plaques.
Initiation and progression of the atherosclerotic lesion involves the recruitment of various types of inflammatory cells to the arterial wall, including macrophages and lymphocytes. This process is complex and the characterization and quantification of components participating in the immune response presents a challenge to researchers. In their investigation of this process, researchers at the Institut Pasteur have characterized the role played by a particular T cell population responding to inflammatory lesions, in particular during the immune response within the atherosclerotic plaque. It appears that the presence of these T cells marks the global infiltration by other cells of the immune system. Detection of the Va14-Ja281 antigen thereby allows the quantification of lesion infiltration by immune cells.