Preface Introduction Section 1: The Immune system in tissue and organ homeostasis Chapter 1: The Immune system beyond the fight against infection Section 2: Immune functions and properties of resident cells in the heart and cardiovascular system Chapter 2: Cardiomyocytes: Paying for the Tolls - The High Cost of the Innate Immune System for the Cardiac Myocyte Chapter 3: Fibroblasts: Properties and immune function of cardiac fibroblasts Chapter 4: Endothelial cells Chapter 5: Pericytes Chapter 6: Tissue-resident macrophages: The role of cardiac tissue macrophages in homeostasis and disease Section 3: The immune system in cardiovascular pathology Chapter 7: Atherosclerosis Chapter 8: Immune mediated heart disease Chapter 9: Vasculitis in the central nervous system Chapter 10: Cardiac Autoimmunity: Myocarditis Section 4: The immune system in repair and regeneration after myocardial infarct Chapter 11: Lymphocytes at the heart of wound healing Chapter 12: The innate immune system in cardiovascular repair and regeneration
Susanne Sattler, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London
Teresa Kennedy-Lydon, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London
Cardiovascular immunology is a newly emerging research area, investigating the crosstalk between the cardiovascular and the immune system. This crosstalk is evident through (1) crucial immunological capacities and functions of cardiovascular cell types, including cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, pericytes and cardiac resident macrophages, (2) the impact of aberrant immune function on the development of cardiovascular disease such as atherosclerosis, direct and indirect immune-mediated heart disease and vasculitis, and (3) the crucial role of the immune system in cardiac repair and regeneration.
The Immunology of Cardiovascular Homeostasis and Pathology covers all these aspects of cardiovascular immunology, starting with homeostatic immunological functions of traditional cardiovascular cell types, and moving then to the role of the immune system in cardiovascular pathology and to recent research into targeting the immune system to boost cardiac healing and regeneration.