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Estimating Bilateral Atrial Function by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Feature Tracking in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: July 20, 2022
Analysis of the Correlation Between Helper T-Lymphocyte Subsets and Atrial Fibrillation: An Observational and
Jiahui Li1,2, Yafen Yang1,2, Hongxuan Fan3
1Department of Cardiology, The Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China, sxmu.edu.cn.
Cardiovascular Therapeutics
|August 5, 2026
Summary
Immune dysfunction, particularly T-lymphocyte imbalances, is linked to atrial fibrillation (AF) risk. Targeting IL-6R may prevent AF, while IL-18 inhibitors might increase AF risk.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Immunology
- Genetics
Background:
- Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a prevalent arrhythmia.
- Emerging evidence suggests a connection between immunological diseases and AF development.
- This study investigates the role of T-lymphocyte subsets and immunomodulatory drug targets in AF risk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the association between T-lymphocyte subsets and AF.
- To identify potential immunomodulatory drug targets influencing AF risk.
- To establish causal relationships between immune traits and AF using genetic analysis.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of T-lymphocyte subsets in 302 AF patients and 183 controls.
- Propensity score matching and multivariate regression to balance covariates.
- Two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis of 731 immune traits and drug targets.
Main Results:
- AF patients exhibited higher Th1 and Th17 cell counts and Th1/Th2 and Th17/Treg ratios.
- Increased CD4+CD8dim T cells and IgD-CD38dim B cells were associated with elevated AF risk.
- IL-6R-mediated CRP elevation increased AF risk; higher IL-18 gene expression was protective.
Conclusions:
- Immune dysfunction, specifically T-lymphocyte subset alterations, is a significant risk factor for AF.
- The IL-6R signaling pathway presents a potential therapeutic target for AF prevention.
- Inhibition of IL-18 may increase AF risk, warranting caution in its clinical application.
