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Confirming the Damage in Living Systems
To confirm that this two-protein cascade actually causes cardiac injury, the researchers turned to mouse models. Young male mice were vaccinated and subsequently showed elevated levels of cardiac troponin — a protein released into the bloodstream when heart muscle cells are damaged and a standard clinical marker used to diagnose heart injury in humans.
Examination of the mice’s heart tissue revealed infiltration by macrophages and neutrophils, another class of aggressive immune cells. This kind of immune cell invasion into heart tissue is also observed in human patients with post-vaccination myocarditis. The problem with these cells is that, in their eagerness to fight perceived threats, they can cause collateral damage to healthy tissue — including the delicate cells of the heart muscle.
