IL1F10 and atherosclerosis: For endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, a known driver of macrophage apoptosis in atherosclerosis, studies should detect core ER stress markers in IL-38-treated macrophages, use ER stress activators or inhibitors for rescue experiments to confirm if IL-38 alleviates apoptosis by suppressing ER stress, and identify which branch of the unfolded protein response it specifically targets.