Mohammadreza Yazdani; Shahdad Khosropanah; Ahmad Hosseini; Mehrnoosh Doroudchi
Volume 13, Issue 4 , December 2016, , Pages 249-262
Abstract
Background: Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting large and
medium arteries. CD4+ T cells are known to play a role in the progression of the
disease. CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ natural Treg (nTreg) cells seem to have a protective role
in the disease and their reduction in acute coronary ...
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Background: Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting large and
medium arteries. CD4+ T cells are known to play a role in the progression of the
disease. CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ natural Treg (nTreg) cells seem to have a protective role
in the disease and their reduction in acute coronary syndrome is recently shown.
Objective: To investigate the frequency of nTreg subsets in the peripheral blood of
patients with atherosclerosis. Methods: Confirmation of atherosclerosis was done by
angiography and 15 ml heparinized blood was obtained from each of the 13 nondiabetic
patients and 13 non-diabetic, non-smoker individuals with normal/insignificant
coronary artery disease which was also confirmed by angiography. Lipid profiles of the
patients and controls were measured at the time of sampling. Mononuclear cells were
used for both RNA extraction and immunophenotyping by real-time PCR and
flowcytometry techniques, respectively. Results: In natural Treg subsets, the frequency
of CD4+CD45RO-CD25+Foxp3lo T-cells (resting nTregs) was greater in controls than
patients (p=0.02). The frequency of CD4+CD45RO+CD25hiFoxp3hi T-cells (activated
nTregs) was significantly higher in controls compared with patients (p=0.02). However,
the frequency of CD4+CD25+CD45RO+Foxp3- T-cells (effector/memory) increased in
patients compared with controls (p=0.01). Both the MFI and gene expression of Foxp3
were higher in control group than in patients (p=0.015 and p=0.017, respectively).
Moreover, the TGF-β gene expression showed a decrease in the peripheral blood
mononuclear cells of patients compared with controls (p=0.03). Conclusion: Decrease
in both subsets of resting and activated nTregs along with a decrease in the expression
of Foxp3 and TGF-β genes in patients with atherosclerosis suggests phenotypic changes
in these subsets, which may as well be correlated with a more inflammatory profile in
their lymphocytes.
Samira Ghorbani Gazar; Alireza Andalib; Mohammad Hashemi; Abbas Rezaei
Volume 9, Issue 1 , March 2012, , Pages 53-60
Abstract
Background: Atherosclerosis is a multifactorial disorder with chronic inflammatory conditions in which immune cells play a significant role in its pathogenic process. Regulatory T cells (Treg), as a part of immune system, are involved in controlling autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Quantitative ...
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Background: Atherosclerosis is a multifactorial disorder with chronic inflammatory conditions in which immune cells play a significant role in its pathogenic process. Regulatory T cells (Treg), as a part of immune system, are involved in controlling autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Quantitative and/or functional alteration of Tregs has been shown to play an atheroprotective role and may also promote plaque stabilization. Objective: To assess if inducible costimulatory molecule (ICOS) expression on one subtype of Treg cells with high suppressive potential correlates with the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Methods: Patients with myocardial infarction (MI) and/or stable angina (SA), diagnosed as atherosclerosis by angiography, and a group of individuals with normal coronary angiography (NCA) were recruited for the present study. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were prepared and the expression of ICOS, Foxp3 and CD4 molecules was tested by flowcytometry. Results: The percentage of CD4+Foxp3+ Treg cells was reduced in MI group compared to NCA and SA groups (p<0.005). Evaluation of the two Treg subsets according to ICOS expression showed a decreased ICOS+/ICOS- Treg ratio in MI and SA groups compared to NCA individuals (p=0.002 and p=0.048, respectively). Conclusion: The present data indicate that Tregs and its ICOS+ subsets are decreased in patients with MI or SA, suggesting a potential role for Treg in atherosclerosis progression or onset of acute coronary syndrome.
Mohammad Jafar Mahmoudi; Maryam Mahmoudi; Fereydoon Siassi; Fazel Shokri; Mohammad Reza Eshraghian; Amir Hassan Zamani; Reza Chahardoli; Mona Hedayat; Jalal Khoshnoodi; Hashem Nayeri; Nima Rezaei; Ali-Akbar Saboor-Yaraghi
Volume 8, Issue 1 , March 2011, , Pages 27-33
Abstract
Background: Atherosclerosis, a chronic inflammatory disease of the vessel wall is characterized by local and systemic immune responses to a variety of antigens. Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) is considered as an important determining factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Objective: ...
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Background: Atherosclerosis, a chronic inflammatory disease of the vessel wall is characterized by local and systemic immune responses to a variety of antigens. Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) is considered as an important determining factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) vulnerability to in vitro oxLDL-induced cytotoxicity from atherosclerotic patients in comparison to healthy individuals. Methods: Thirty patients with atherosclerotic lesions, confirmed by angiography, and 30 matched healthy individuals were investigated. PBMC was prepared from individuals' blood samples which were further stimulated with low dose (1 μg/mL) and high dose (50 μg/mL) of extensively oxidized LDL. MTT assay was utilized to measure cell viability and proliferation. Stimulation index (SI) was calculated as mean ratio of optical density (OD) of the stimulated cells divided by OD of untreated cells. Results: Low dose oxLDL treatment caused no significant proliferative or cytotoxic effect in the control group; however, similar treatment caused significant cytotoxic effect in the patient group compared to the controls (p=0.026). High dose oxLDL treatment induced more significant cytotoxicity in the patient compared to the control group (p=0.006). Comparison of the SI between the two groups of patients and controls showed significantly lower index by either the low (p=0.03) or the high dose (p<0.001) oxLDL in the patients compared to the controls. Conclusions: PBMC from patients with atherosclerosis showed increased susceptibility to oxLDL-induced cytotoxicity. Our results imply that prolonged exposure to elevated levels of circulating oxLDL could weaken the cellular defense mechanisms by progressive depletion of the pool of antiapoptotic proteins, rendering the cells more vulnerable to oxLDL-induced cell death.
Farhana Shahzad; Shahzad Tawwab; Nadeem Afzal
Volume 7, Issue 2 , June 2010, , Pages 109-116
Abstract
Background: Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory and multifactorial disease, with a high prevalence rate in Pakistan. Objective: To find a relation between serum IL-4 and IgE levels with oxidized LDL in atherosclerosis. Methods: In this observational, cross sectional study 99 male patients, between forty ...
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Background: Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory and multifactorial disease, with a high prevalence rate in Pakistan. Objective: To find a relation between serum IL-4 and IgE levels with oxidized LDL in atherosclerosis. Methods: In this observational, cross sectional study 99 male patients, between forty and sixty years of age, with a history of ischemic heart disease (IHD) and established atherosclerotic plaques on angiography were recruited. The study was completed within three years (Jan 2007 to Jan 2009). One hundred and one age and gender matched healthy subjects with no known history of IHD were also recruited. All the study participants were non-diabetics. Serum IL-4, IgE and oxidized LDL (ox-LDL) levels were measured by quantitative ELISA technique. Results: Serum IL-4 levels were generally undetectable or very low, but were higher in the patient group compared to the control subjects. Similarly, oxidized LDL and serum IgE levels were also increased in the patient group compared to the control, but the differences were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Our study could not detect any relationship between IL-4 and IgE levels with LDL oxidation in atherosclerosis.