Atherosclerosis in systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune rheumatic disease that has a late mortality phase owing mainly to cardiovascular manifestations. Atherosclerosis itself is characterized by inflammatory components, fulfilling the criteria of Witebsky and Rose for an autoimmune disease. SLE patients have increased risk for cardiovascular events, and these are the result of both atherosclerosis and thromboembolic events. Risk factors for atherosclerosis in SLE include “traditional” risk factors (mainly the Framingham risk factors), as well as disease-related factors including disease duration, steroid therapy, and renal disease, and inflammatory mechanisms that specifically contribute to enhanced atherosclerosis in SLE. These include specific antibodies to β2GPI; anticardiolipin antibodies; anti-oxidized low-density lipoprotein; and antibodies to heat shock proteins, complement activation, impaired ability to activate TGF-β1, and elevated levels of CRP. These findings stress the importance of surveillance and preventive strategies to control atherosclerosis in SLE.

Keywords::

• Atherosclerosis
• systemic lupus erythematosus
• autoantibody

Acknowledgment

Declaration of interest: This study was supported in part by the Federico Foundation (to Y. Sherer and Y. Shoenfeld). The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.