Past, current and future concepts in atherosclerotic biobanking

Knowledge on the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic disease mainly originates from observations made by pathologists who systemically collected vascular tissue. Biobanking of human tissues has become a professionalized joint effort, including the expertise of epidemiologists, pathologists and biologists. Mostly, biobanks are used for cross-sectional studies and the obtained specimens often represent later stages of disease. Technical improvements in high-throughput genetic and proteomic screening lead to important new insights into pathophysiological processes. Atherosclerotic disease progression is a major killer in the Western society. Pathological biobanking studies revealed insights in plaque progression and destabilization. However, atherosclerotic disease is a typical example where insights into progression of the disease may be hampered by the cross-sectional design of the biobanks. This article will focus on the accomplishments that have been made through biobanking of atherosclerotic tissues in the past and the present. In addition, future potentials of atherosclerotic plaque biobanks will be discussed