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Updated: May 19, 2026

Isolation and Identification of Extravascular Immune Cells of the Heart
08:24

Isolation and Identification of Extravascular Immune Cells of the Heart

Published on: August 23, 2018

The inflammatory fingerprint reveals immune cell populations associated with disease activity in cardiac sarcoidosis

Tobias Harm1, Stella E Autenrieth2, Katharina Mezger1

  • 1Department of Cardiology and Angiology, University Hospital Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Straße 10, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.

Clinical Research in Cardiology : Official Journal of the German Cardiac Society
|May 18, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) involves distinct immune cell changes. Understanding these inflammatory fingerprints helps identify patients who may benefit from immunosuppressive therapy for better outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Cardiology
  • Systemic inflammatory diseases

Background:

  • Sarcoidosis is a systemic inflammatory disease.
  • Cardiac involvement in sarcoidosis increases adverse event risk.
  • Pathophysiology of myocardial inflammation and fibrosis in sarcoidosis is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Characterize the immune response in cardiac sarcoidosis (CS).
  • Identify immune signatures associated with disease activity and prognosis.
  • Understand the pathophysiology of CS.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective enrollment of 26 patients with biopsy-proven sarcoidosis.
  • Evaluation of suspected CS using hybrid cardiac PET/MR imaging.
  • Analysis of peripheral blood from active CS, chronic CS, extracardiac sarcoidosis, and healthy controls via spectral flow cytometry and immunoassay.

Main Results:

  • Identified 56 characteristic immune cell populations in CS patients.
  • Revealed distinct immunophenotypic differences between CS patients, extracardiac sarcoidosis, and healthy controls.
  • Observed aberrant cytokine/chemokine expression and shifts in lymphocytes, innate immune cells, and monocyte subsets in CS.

Conclusions:

  • Comprehensive immune profiling reveals changes in immune cell populations linked to CS.
  • Findings offer insights into CS pathophysiology.
  • Potential for improved patient stratification for targeted immunosuppressive therapy.
Abstract

Keywords:
Cardiac sarcoidosisImmune cellsImmunophenotypingInflammationSpectral flow cytometry

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