The relationships between inflammatory biomarkers, plaque characteristics, and macrophage clusters in coronary plaque: a quantitative assessment of macrophages based on optical coherence tomography

作者：Chun‐Wei Liu, Fan Yang, Yuecheng Hu, Le Wang, Ximing Li, Hongliang Cong, Jingxia Zhang · 发表于：Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3389/fcvm.2025.1625239 · 被引用次数：4 · 研究领域：Atherosclerosis and Cardiovascular Diseases、Coronary Interventions and Diagnostics、Inflammatory Biomarkers in Disease Prognosis

Background Quantitative assessment of macrophage accumulation is appealing in evaluating plaque inflammation. In optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging, local macrophage clusters may be a feasible marker for macrophage quantification. Methods 404 patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome who underwent OCT evaluation were included. This study aims to assess the relationships between systemic inflammatory biomarkers [including monocytes, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and monocyte-to-HDL ratio (MHR)], plaque characteristics, and local macrophage clusters in coronary plaque. Results Macrophage clusters were present in 218 patients, with a median arc value of 72° (50°–163°). Patients with macrophage clusters showed markedly higher levels of inflammatory biomarkers and plaque vulnerability. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that MHR, lipid index, and microchannel were independently associated with the presence of macrophage clusters. The DeLong test showed the area under the curve of the above three combined indicators was significantly larger than that of single indicators (0.774 vs. 0.692, 0.665, 0.624, respectively, p < 0.001). The macrophage cluster arc correlated positively with MHR and lipid index ( r = 0.219, p = 0.001; and r = 0.229, p = 0.001, respectively). More superficial macrophage infiltration, thin cap fibroatheromas, plaque rupture, and thinner fibrous cap thickness were observed in the large macrophage cluster ...