{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]],"date-time":"2026-01-23T09:31:26Z","timestamp":1769160686729,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,22]],"date-time":"2026-01-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769040000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001659","name":"Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["SFB 393717239"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SFB 393717239"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001659","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001659","name":"Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["SFB 393717239"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SFB 393717239"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001659","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Despite being a major cause of ischemic stroke in young adults, the biological underpinnings of cervical artery dissection (CeAD) remain poorly defined. Recent data implicate immune activation as a potential contributor. We aimed to determine whether patients with CeAD display a distinct peripheral immune signature, which may provide insights into pathogenic inflammatory processes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with spontaneous CeAD (n\u2009=\u20097 without and n\u2009=\u200911 with ischemic stroke) and ten age-matched healthy controls were analyzed via multi-color flow cytometry. Immune cell composition and activation markers were assessed, and sparse partial least squares discriminant analysis (sPLS-DA) was employed to identify CeAD-associated immune features. A secondary comparison with ischemic stroke controls was included to assess the specificity of identified immune alterations.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Compared to healthy controls, CeAD patients displayed increased frequencies of CD4\u2009\u207a\u2009T cells and decreased natural killer T (NKT) cells. sPLS-DA demonstrated clear separation of CeAD and control immune profiles, driven by increased CD28 expression on na\u00efve CD8\u2009\u207a\u2009T cells, NKp46 on NK cells, and IL-2R\u03b1 (CD25) on myeloid dendritic cells (mDC2). Elevated granzyme K in na\u00efve CD8\u2009\u207a\u2009T cells indicated enhanced cytotoxic potential, while regulatory T cells were diminished. These alterations were largely preserved when compared to ischemic stroke controls, suggesting CeAD-specific immune activation. No microbial pathogens were detected by untargeted metagenomic sequencing.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>CeAD is associated with a distinct peripheral immune signature characterized by enhanced cytotoxic activity and reduced regulatory features. These alterations may reflect a post-infectious autoimmune mechanism triggering CeAD or a secondary immune-inflammatory response to vascular injury. Larger, longitudinal studies are needed to clarify causality and assess whether immune modulation could serve as a therapeutic target in CeAD.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0340592","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,22]],"date-time":"2026-01-22T18:23:47Z","timestamp":1769106227000},"page":"e0340592","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Spontaneous cervical artery dissection is associated with a distinct peripheral immune cell 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