Table 1.

Shared disease mechanisms in rheumatic diseases and CVD

Mechanism	Pathway in vascular disease	References
Cytokine-induced macrophage migration and activation	Ox-LDL scavenging and formation of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque	Ross 1999,Hansson 2005,Dixon and Symmons 2007
Cytokine-induced upregulation of procoagulant factors	Increased systemic thrombodiatesis	McEntegart et al 2001; Sattar et al 2003
Systemic endothelial activation with upregulation of MHC class II molecules	Endothelial dysfunction Increased T-cell migration and activation	Vallbracht et al 2002; Turesson 2004
Clonal expansion and activation of abnormal T-cells	Cytotoxicity leading to plaque damage Local cytokine upregulation	Park et al 1997,Liuzzo et al 1999,Michel et al 2007
Anti-phospholipid antibodies	Increased arterial and venous thrombodiatesis	Toloza et al 2004

Abbreviations: CVD, cardiovascular disease; LDL, low density lipoprotein; MHC, major hisocompatibility complex