As shown in Fig. 5g–i, the frequency of TIM-3+PD-1+NK cells in SLE patients with CVD was significantly decreased compared with the SLE patients without CVD (P = 0.0179), whereas no correlation was found between the MFI of TIM-3 and PD-1 on TIM-3+PD-1+ NK cells and CVD (P = 0.9749 and P = 0.9736, respectively). Here, HAVCR2 is linked to systemic lupus erythematosus.