Autoimmune rheumatic diseases (AIRDs) are a group of conditions sharing a high risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, mainly due to premature, accelerated atherosclerosis. In the past years, atherosclerosis has emerged as an inflammatory, immune-mediated disease leading to premature vascular damage. Ever-growing evidence supports an independent role for both humoral and cellular immune responses, together with the involvement of innate immunity, in the development of the atherosclerotic plaque. The contribution of the immune system begins in the earliest and reversible stage of the atherosclerotic process, the endothelial dysfunction. It is not surprising to find premature, accelerated atherosclerosis, not fully explained by an excess of traditional cardiovascular risk factors in patients with AIRDs; rather, traditional and disease-related factors seem to interplay and converge into a proinflammatory and proatherogenic phenotype. The goal of this special issue is to provide evidence and extend the knowledge on (i) the complex relationship between atherosclerosis and immune-mediated diseases and (ii) potential effects of AIRDs treatment on the endothelial function and progression of atherosclerosis.

We invite authors to contribute to this special issue with original research and review articles focusing on the contribution of innate and adoptive immune responses in the endothelial dysfunction and in the progression of atherosclerosis in AIRDs and suggesting a role for therapeutic intervention in the management of cardiovascular comorbidity.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Role of B- and T-cell subpopulations in atherosclerosis
• Autoantigens and autoantibodies in atherosclerosis
• Effectors of innate immune response in atherosclerosis and AIRDs
• Role of cytokines and their blockade in the progression of atherosclerosis in AIRDs
• Chemokines and vascular damage
• Cellular and molecular biomarkers of premature atherosclerosis in AIRDs
• Lipid metabolism in AIRDs
• Assessment of atherosclerosis in patients with AIRDs
• Effect of treatment of AIRDs on biomarkers of atherosclerosis