Expansion of fibroblast-like cells may explain the CANTOS meta-analysis findings for patients with clonal hematopoiesis.

Abstract

Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Neutralization of the cytokine IL-1β (as in the CANTOS clinical trial) resulted in a greater reduction in adverse cardiovascular events in patients with CHIP than the reduction in molecularly unstratified patients. New research reveals that some of the cardiovascular benefits of anti-IL-1β therapy in patients with CHIP might be delivered by an improvement in plaque stability via increased fibroblast-like cells.