SLE patients indeed display an accelerated atherosclerosis that strongly contributes to the excess mortality observed but is poorly explained by the traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Clonal hematopoiesis defines the clonal expansion of hematopoietic cells driven by a selective advantage given by leukemia-associated somatic mutations. Clonal hematopoiesis is said of indeterminate potential (CHIP) when found in asymptomatic patient. CHIP strongly correlated with age and logically predispose to haematological malignancy, but is also causally associated with cardiovascular events (CVE) in the general population. The main objective of our study was to determine whether CHIP is associated with CVE in SLE patients.
Accelerated atherosclerosis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is not fully explained by Framingham risk factors. The detection in asymptomatic patients of somatic mutations in genes involved in hematopoietic malignancy- defining clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) - predisposes to cardiovascular events (CVE) in general population. We aimed to determine whether CHIP is associated with CVE in SLE.