Regulation of the innate immune phenotype in atherosclerosis: Navigating the inflammatory landscape

Cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Immune cells, such as monocytes and neutrophils are involved in the development of these diseases, but the exact mechanism are unknown. Further elucidation of these mechanisms could help to improve risk prediction for patients, and improve prevention and treatment strategies. This research investigated the role of two recently discovered immunological mechanisms, called clonal hematopoiesis and trained immunity, and how these two mechanism are related to each other. Also, the research describes how the anti-inflammatory drug colchicine, which is traditionally used to treat gout attacks, changes the function of immune cells in patients with cardiovascular disease. The results of this thesis could contribute to accurate individual cardiovascular risk prediction, and to improved prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.