At this time point, expression of inflammation markers, including T-bet, chemokines (CCR5/7), and cDC (Zbtb46), as well as the degree of stenosis in the proximal ascending aorta, correlated with NKT cell numbers in blood, pointing to a very significant role of NKT cells in the initiation of atherosclerosis. Here, ZBTB46 is linked to atherosclerosis.