Familial atherosclerosis and neuroimmune guidance cues From in vitro assessments to clinical events

The aim of the studies described in this thesis was twofold: 1) to substantiate the role of Neuroimmune Guidance Cues (NGCs) in human atherosclerotic disease and 2) to further improve treatment strategies for families where premature atherosclerosis is prevalent.
This thesis demonstrates Neuroimmune Guidance Cues to play a role in human atherosclerosis and in particular Netrin-1 seems to have the most potential to become a new therapeutic target within cardiovascular disease. In addition, it is important to identity unaffected relatives at risk within families suffering from premature atherosclerosis because they most likely benefit from additional testing for cardiovascular risk.