查看文章

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with high incidence of first and recurrent cardiovascular events, especially acute coronary syndromes (ACSs); however, the mechanisms involved are still unknown. We sought to investigate the role of CD4⁺CD28^nullT-lymphocytes, a rare long-lived subset of T-lymphocytes with proatherogenic and plaque-destabilizing properties, in the increased cardiovascular risk associated with DM.

CD4⁺CD28^nullT-cell frequency was analysed by flow-cytometry in 60 DM patients without overt cardiovascular disease (cDM), in 166 ACS patients with or without DM (ACS/DM+, n= 51 and ACS/DM−, n= 115), and in 60 healthy individuals. The incidence of cardiovascular events (death, myocardial infarction, unstable angina) was assessed at 36 months follow-up. CD4⁺CD28^nullT-cell frequency (median, range) was higher in ACS …