Heart disease is the major cause of death and it is broadly recognized that the immune
system plays a central role in healthy and injured heart. Here, we focus on the contribution of
various subsets of mononuclear phagocytes in the cardiac system. Macrophages and
dendritic cells reside in the healthy myocardium to fulfill homeostatic functions and rapidly
increase in numbers in diseases like myocardial ischemia and myocarditis to contribute to
disease or resolve it. Recent experiments have revealed the extraordinary heterogeneity of …