Cardiovascular pathology : the official journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Pathology
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Cardiovasc. Pathol. · Nov 2019
Comparative StudyImmune checkpoint inhibition alters the inflammatory cell composition of human coronary artery atherosclerosis.
Immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) has emerged as a promising new approach to treat malignancy. Such therapies can result in autoimmune-related complications such as myocarditis and hepatitis. The impact of ICI on sites of preexisting chronic inflammation has been less clear. Atherosclerosis is a chronic vascular disease with a significant inflammatory component. ⋯ In cancer patients, treatment with immune checkpoint inhibition is associated with an altered inflammatory cell composition in coronary artery atherosclerotic plaques with an increased ratio of CD3+ T cells to CD68+ macrophages. Thus, immune checkpoint inhibition may influence plaque progression and/or clinical coronary events.