THE AORTA CAN ACT AS SITE OF T CELL PRIMING AND PROMOTES A LOCAL CD4 ADAPTIVE IMMUNE RESPONSE IN EARLY STAGE ATHEROSCLEROSIS IN APOLIPOPROTEIN-E-/- MICE

Abstract

Artery tertiary lymphoid organs (ATLOs) in the adventitia adjacent to intimal plaque in aortas from aged apolipoprotein-E (apoE)-/- mice have recently been shown by us to orchestrate the aortic immune response in the advanced stages of experimental atherosclerosis, highlighting the importance of the vascular immune response and its contribution to the pathology. Antigen presenting cells (APCs) and T cells are found in both human and animal naïve and atherosclerotic vessels; however, the mechanisms leading to T cell activation in the arterial wall remain poorly understood. Here we utilised flow cytometry to present a quantitative assessment of the major antigen presenting cells in both C57..