Journal of Clinical and Cellular Immunology
Open Access

Abstract

The Role of Fcγ Receptors in Myocardial Diseases and Atherosclerosis

Chiharu Kishimoto and Zuyi Yuan

Myocardial diseases and atherosclerosis are widely considered to be an immune mediated process. Fcγ receptors (FcγRs) contribute to the regulation of immune and inflammatory responses and have been implicated in human cardiovascular lesions. Major cell types involved in the pathogenesis of the diseases express FcγRs and their ligands such as immune complexes and C-reactive protein have been shown to activate FcγRs signal pathway. This review summarizes recent significant progress addressing the various roles of FcγRs in the disease pathogenesis which comes from the studies of FcγRs deficient animal models, clinical investigations and in vitro molecular and cellular studies. These new findings help us appreciate the emerging role of FcγRs in cardiovascular diseases, and suggest FcγRs as a potential therapeutic target for the diseases.