Interleukins and atherosclerosis: a dysfunctional family grows.

ABSTRACT

Atherosclerosis is driven by the release of cytokines from macrophages, and the ß isoform of interleukin-1 (IL-1ß) is a prime suspect in disease progression. Freigang et al. (2013) now suggest that IL-1α, a close relative, is selectively induced by fatty acids independent of the inflammasome to promote vascular inflammation.