UCLA scientists have engineered “triple-threat” immune cells that attack the fatty plaques behind most heart attacks and strokes, according to a study published in mid-September in Circulation Research. The cells recognise three harmful cell types inside atherosclerotic plaques, rather than just one.

In tests across a mouse model, a lab-grown mini blood vessel and real patient artery tissue, the triple-targeting cells outperformed single-target versions at clearing plaque. The approach adapts the CAR-T strategy used in cancer therapy — reprogramming immune cells to hunt specific targets — this time aiming at FAP, a marker found on rogue smooth muscle cells that destabilise plaques.

Heart disease remains the world’s biggest killer, and ruptured plaques trigger most heart attacks and strokes. The researchers say the multi-target design could make the therapy harder for plaques to evade, much as combination treatments work better than single drugs.

The work is still preclinical, and human trials are a long way off. But if the approach translates, it could open a new front in preventing the events that kill millions each year.