Evidence map›Paper›PMID 11805151›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of experimental medicine2002

Expression of interleukin (IL)-18 and functional IL-18 receptor on human vascular endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and macrophages: implications for atherogenesis.

Norbert Gerdes, Galina K Sukhova, Peter Libby, Rebecca S Reynolds, James L Young, Uwe Schönbeck

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The Journal of experimental medicine, 2002. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 168 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
168citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
12.4field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

168 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 504 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  13. The Twisted Tale of Interleukin-18 in Atherosclerosis.JACC. Basic to translational science · 2026
    Article
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  15. Article
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  18. The role of absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2) in cardiovascular diseases.Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2025
    Review
  19. Article
  20. Article

108 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Norbert GerdesLeducq Center for Cardiovascular Research, Cardiovascular Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Galina K Sukhova
Peter Libby
Rebecca S Reynolds
James L Young
Uwe Schönbeck
Brigham and Women's Hospital · US

Funding

Inflammatory Mechanisms of AtherosclerosisR01HL034636 · NHLBI · TUFTS UNIVERSITY BOSTON · PI LIBBY, PETER · 1985 to 2006
$1.9M
CONTROL OF GROWTH OF VASCULAR WALL CELLSR37HL034636 · NHLBI · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI LIBBY, PETER · 1993 to 2002
$1.2M
NHLBI NIH HHS HL34636NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL034636NHLBI NIH HHS R37 HL034636
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Although considerable evidence implicates the cytokine interferon (IFN)-gamma in atherogenesis, the proximal inducers and the range of sources of its expression remain unknown. This study tested the hypothesis that interleukin (IL)-18 regulates IFN-gamma expression during atherogenesis. Indeed, human atheroma in situ expressed IL-18 and elevated levels of its receptor subunits, IL-18Ralpha/beta, compared with nondiseased arterial tissue. IL-18 occurred predominantly as the mature, 18-kD form and colocalized with mononuclear phagocytes (MPhi), while endothelial cells (ECs), smooth muscle cells (SMCs), and MPhi all expressed IL-18Ralpha/beta. Correspondingly in vitro, only MPhi expressed IL-18, while all three cell types displayed the IL-18Ralpha/beta complex constitutively, exhibiting enhanced expression upon stimulation with LPS, IL-1beta, or tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha. IL-18 signaling evoked effectors involved in atherogenesis, e.g., cytokines (IL-6), chemokines (IL-8), intracellular adhesion molecules (ICAM)-1, and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-1/-9/-13), demonstrating functionality of the receptor on ECs, SMCs, and MPhi. Finally, IL-18, particularly in combination with IL-12, induced the expression of IFN-gamma in cultured MPhi and, surprisingly, in SMCs (but not in ECs). The expression of functional IL-18 and IL-18 receptor on human atheroma-associated ECs, SMCs, and MPhi, and its unexpected ability to induce IFN-gamma expression in SMCs, suggests a novel paracrine proinflammatory pathway operating during atherogenesis.

Indexed as

ArteriosclerosisCells, CulturedEndothelium, VascularHumansInflammation MediatorsIntercellular Adhesion Molecule-1Interferon-gammaInterleukin-18Interleukin-18 Receptor alpha SubunitMacrophagesMetalloendopeptidasesMuscle, Smooth, VascularParacrine CommunicationReceptors, InterleukinReceptors, Interleukin-18IL18R1 protein, humanInflammation MediatorsIntercellular Adhesion Molecule-1Interferon-gammaInterleukin-18Interleukin-18 Receptor alpha SubunitMetalloendopeptidasesReceptors, InterleukinReceptors, Interleukin-18

Identifiers

PMID11805151
PMCPMC2193607
OpenAlexW2152686325

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.