ArticlePloS one2026
Monocyte clusters suggestive of a chronic inflammatory phenotype are associated with reduced endothelial function in Veterans with respiratory symptoms.
Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Exposure to airborne hazards during deployment is associated with persistent respiratory symptoms among military veterans even years after deployment. Circulating monocytes, key components of the innate immune response, are implicated in inflammatory processes that may be sustained long after such exposures and contribute to related health issues. This cross-sectional study, conducted years after deployment, aimed to characterize monocyte activation profiles in veterans with deployment-related respiratory symptoms and investigate associations with physiological markers of pulmonary and vascular function. Circulating monocyte immunophenotype, pulmonary function, and brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) were assessed in 82 previously deployed veterans. Using principal component and hierarchical clustering analyses, we identified two distinct monocyte activation phenotypes: Cluster 1, characterized by elevated CD87, CD11b, and CD163, and cluster 2 which expressed markers of non-classical monocytes and CD195, indicative of a chronic inflammatory phenotype. Veterans in cluster 2 exhibited impaired endothelial-dependent vasodilation (FMD/NMD ratio; p = 0.02) and elevated airway resistance (R5; p = 0.01), despite normal pulmonary function. These findings suggest an association between distinct monocyte activation profiles and measures of microvascular and airway dysfunction in this cohort, potentially reflecting sustained inflammation secondary to environmental exposure. These observed associations underscore the need for further research into the role of monocytes in these long-term physiological changes. Elucidating the mechanistic pathways by which these monocyte phenotypes may contribute to persistent physiological alterations is critical and could inform future strategies for identifying at-risk veterans or exploring novel immunomodulatory approaches if such links are further substantiated.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.