Maximum carotid plaque thickness (MCPT) measures the largest plaque thickness in the carotid artery and reflects atherosclerosis plaque burden. MCPT may be a better predictor of cardiovascular disease than carotid artery intima-media thickness (cIMT) because it identifies potential unstable arterial atherosclerosis plaques. We assessed the relationships of monocyte and T cell populations and plasma soluble mediators with MCPT measures. We performed a cross-sectional and small follow-up analysis in people living with HIV (PLWH) aged >40 years on stable antiretroviral therapy (ART) >6 months. MCPT was acquired by high-resolution B-mode ultrasound. Existing monocyte subsets and T cell activation frequencies were determined by flow cytometry and plasma mediators of inflammation and apolipoproteins were measured by Luminex assay. One hundred twenty-five ART-treated PLWH, 88% male, 55% Caucasian, with a median age of 51 years, median CD4 count of 477 cells/μL (Q1: 325, Q3: 612), 84% undetectable plasma HIV RNA (<50 copies/mL). Twenty-five PLWH had detectable carotid plaque. MCPT correlated with monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1; r = 0.487, p = .016), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α; r = 0.474 p = .019), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1; r = 0.472, p = .020), apolipoprotein B6 (ApoB6; r = −0.473, p = .019), and interleukin-6 (IL-6; r = 0.455, p = .025). In a multivariable regression model, MCP-1, TNF-α, and sVCAM-1 remained significant after adjustment for age. Carotid plaque burden was associated with increased inflammatory, monocyte, and endothelial measures, including MCP-1, TNF-α, and sVCAM-1 levels. Further investigation on the evolution or severity of plaque burden in this population is warranted.

中文翻译：

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HIV 中的颈动脉斑块负荷与可溶性介质和单核细胞有关。

最大颈动脉斑块厚度 (MCPT) 测量颈动脉中的最大斑块厚度并反映动脉粥样硬化斑块负荷。MCPT 可能是比颈动脉内中膜厚度 (cIMT) 更好的心血管疾病预测指标，因为它可以识别潜在的不稳定动脉粥样硬化斑块。我们评估了单核细胞和 T 细胞群以及血浆可溶性介质与 MCPT 测量的关系。我们对 40 岁以上接受稳定抗逆转录病毒治疗 (ART) > 6 个月的 HIV 感染者 (PLWH) 进行了横断面和小型随访分析。MCPT 是通过高分辨率 B 型超声获得的。现有的单核细胞亚群和 T 细胞活化频率通过流式细胞术测定，炎症的血浆介质和载脂蛋白通过 Luminex 测定法测量。125 名接受 ART 治疗的 PLWH，88% 为男性，55% 为白种人，中位年龄为 51 岁，中位 CD4 计数为 477 个细胞/μL（Q1：325，Q3：612），84% 无法检测到血浆 HIV RNA (<50 份/毫升)。25 名 PLWH 具有可检测的颈动脉斑块。MCPT 与单核细胞趋化蛋白-1 (MCP-1;r  = 0.487, p  = .016), 肿瘤坏死因子-α (TNF-α; r  = 0.474 p  = .019), 可溶性血管细胞粘附分子-1 (sVCAM-1; r  = 0.472, p  = .020) , 载脂蛋白 B6 (ApoB6; r  = -0.473, p  = .019) 和白细胞介素-6 (IL-6; r  = 0.455, p = .025）。在多变量回归模型中，MCP-1、TNF-α 和 sVCAM-1 在调整年龄后仍然显着。颈动脉斑块负荷与炎症、单核细胞和内皮指标的增加有关，包括 MCP-1、TNF-α 和 sVCAM-1 水平。有必要对这一人群中斑块负荷的演变或严重程度进行进一步调查。