IL-12Rβ2 is Expressed in the Synthetic SMC and Detected in the Blood of Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction

Current cardiac biomarkers fail to detect vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) activation, a key feature of vulnerable plaque formation in acute myocardial infarction (AMI).This study identifies interleukin-12 receptor beta 2 subunit (IL-12Rβ2) as a receptor selectively expressed in synthetic SMCs upon interferon-γ stimulation and released via SMC-derived extracellular vesicles.Circulating IL-12Rβ2 was significantly elevated in AMI patients and detected using a novel capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.These findings suggest IL-12Rβ2 as a non-invasive biomarker reflecting SMC-driven plaque instability, offering a novel diagnostic strategy for early risk stratification in coronary artery disease.