Association between Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk: Another Brick in the Wall.

In recent years, immune checkpoint inhibitors have significantly changed the field of oncology, emerging as first-line treatment, either alone or in combination with other regimens, for numerous malignancies, improving overall survival and progression-free survival in these patients. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors might also cause severe or fatal immune-related adverse events, including adverse cardiovascular events. Initially, myocarditis was recognized as the main immune checkpoint inhibitor-related cardiac event, but our knowledge of other potential immune-related cardiovascular adverse events continues to broaden. Recently, preclinical and clinical data seem to support an association between immune checkpoint inhibitors and accelerated atherosclerosis as well as atherosclerotic cardiovascular events such as cardiac ischemic disease, stroke, and peripheral artery disease. In this review, by offering a comprehensive overview of the pivotal role of inflammation in atherosclerosis, we focus on the potential molecular pathways underlying the effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors on cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, we provide an overview of therapeutic strategies for cancer patients undergoing immunotherapy to prevent the development of cardiovascular diseases.

Continuous Lighting Promotes Plant Growth, Light Conversion Efficiency, and Nutritional Quality of Eruca vesicaria (L.) Cav. in Controlled Environment With Minor Effects Due to Light Quality.

Light-emitting diode lamps can allow for the optimization of lighting conditions in artificial growing environments, with respect to light quality, quantity, and photoperiod extension, to precisely manage resources and crop performance. Eruca vesicaria (L.) Cav. was hydroponically cultured under three light treatments to investigate the effect on yield and nutritional properties of rocket plants. A treatment of (W-12h) having a12/12 h light/dark at 600 µmol m-2 s-1 provided by LEDs W:FR:R:B = 12:2:71:15 was compared with two treatments of continuous lighting (CL), 24 h light at 300 µmol m-2 s-1 provided by cool white LEDs (W-CL), and by LED R:B = 73:27 (RB-CL). CL enhanced the growth of the rocket plants: total fresh biomass, leaf fresh weight, and shoot/root ratio increased in W-CL, and leaf dry weight, leaf dry matter %, root fresh and dry weight, and specific leaf dry weight (SLDW) increased in RB-CL. Total carbon content was higher in RB-CL, whereas total nitrogen and proteins content increased in W-12h. Both W-CL and RB-CL increased carbohydrate content in the rocket leaves, while W-CL alone increased the sugar content in the roots. Fibers, pigments, antioxidant compounds, and malic acid were increased by CL regardless of the light spectrum applied. Nitrate was significantly reduced in the rocket leaves grown both in W-CL and RB-CL. Thus, the application of CL with low light intensity can increase the yield and quality value of rocket, highlighting that careful scheduling of light spectrum, intensity, and photoperiod can improve the performance of the crop.