Table 1.

The role of selected cytokines in atherosclerosis.

Cytokine	Effect	Model	Reference
IL-1⍺, IL-1β	Promote atherosclerosis	-Hematopoietic deficiency of IL-1α in Apoe−/− or Ldlr−/− mice -Whole-body IL-1β knockout in Apoe−/− mice -The anti-IL1β treatment of Apoe−/− mice -Whole body IL-1R knockout in Apoe−/− mice -Administration of soluble IL-1R antagonist (anakinra) in Ldlr−/− mice -Smooth muscle cell-specific ablation of IL-1R in Apoe−/− mice	[17,19] [20] [13] [14] [21] [18]
	Suppress atherosclerosis or have no effect	-Anti-IL-1β treatment during the late stages had no effect in Apoe−/− mice	[18]
IL-6	Promote atherosclerosis	-Treatment of Apoe−/− mice with recombinant IL-6 -Inhibition of IL-6 trans-signaling with soluble glycoprotein 130 (sgp130) in Ldlr−/− mice	[75] [79]
	Suppress atherosclerosis or have no effect	-Whole body IL-6 knockout in Apoe−/− mice	[76,77]
IL-10	Promote atherosclerosis
	Suppress atherosclerosis	-Whole body IL-10 knockout in Apoe−/− mice -Hematopoietic deficiency of IL-10 in Ldlr−/− mice -Systemic and local adenovirus-mediated suppression of IL-10 in Ldlr−/− mice -IL-10 overexpression by T cells in Ldlr−/− mice	[58] [59] [60] [61]
IL-12	Promote atherosclerosis	-Treatment of Apoe−/− mice with recombinant IL-12 -Whole body IL-12 knockout in Apoe−/− mice	[81] [82]
	Suppress atherosclerosis
IL-17	Promote atherosclerosis	-Whole body IL-17A and IL-17RA knockout in Apoe−/− mice -Neutralization of IL-17 in Apoe−/− mice by monoclonal antibodies -Neutralization of IL-17 in Apoe−/− mice by adenovirus-encoded soluble IL-17RA inhibitor -Whole body IL-17C knockout in Apoe−/− mice	[40] [43] [49] [50]
	Suppress atherosclerosis	-Whole body IL-17A knockout in Apoe−/− mice -Neutralization of IL-17A in SOCS3-deficient Ldlr−/− mice -Administration of recombinant IL-17 into Ldlr−/− mice -Hematopoietic deficiency of Trim21 in Ldlr−/− mice -Neutralization of IL-17A in Ldlr−/− mice transplanted with CD4-Cre+Smad7fl/fl bone marrow	[42] [46] [46] [39] [44]
IL-18	Promote atherosclerosis	-Treatment of Apoe−/− mice with recombinant IL-18 -IL-18 neutralization by IL-18-binding protein in Apoe−/− mice -Whole body IL-18 knockout in Apoe−/− mice -Treatment of SCID/Apoe−/− mice with recombinant IL-18 -Whole body IL-18R knockout in Apoe−/−Ncc−/− mice	[26] [27] [28] [29] [30]
	Suppress atherosclerosis
IL-22	Promote atherosclerosis	-Whole body IL-22 knockout in Apoe−/− mice	[70]
	Suppress atherosclerosis	-Hematopoietic deficiency of IL-22 in Ldlr−/− mice -Administration of recombinant IL-22 into Ldlr−/− mice	[71]
IL-23	Promote atherosclerosis	-Elevated level of IL-23 in CVD	[84]
	Suppress atherosclerosis	-Hematopoietic deficiency of IL-23 or IL-23R in Ldlr−/− mice	[71]

CVD—cardiovascular disease; IL—interleukin; Apoe—apolipoprotein E; Ldlr—low-density lipoprotein receptor; SOCS3—suppressor of cytokine signaling 3; TRIM21—Tri-partite motif 2.