Since both macrophages and T cells coexist in atherosclerotic lesions and play a major role in atherosclerosis progression, we cocultured GM- and M-MØ with T cells isolated from the respective donors and investigated if cholesterol loading of CSF-polarized macrophages also elicited distinct macrophage immune responses affecting proliferation of neighboring T cells via cell–cell interactions. Here, CSF2 is linked to atherosclerosis.