Correlation between coronary artery lesions and immune cells in patients with coronary heart disease

GAO Rong-hua; ZHANG Shao-hui

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-4055.2017.06.25

Abstract：Objective To discuss the relationship between coronary atherosclerosis and immune cells in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD).Methods CHD patients (n=100) were chosen from the Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University from Jan. 2014 to Jan. 2016, and divided into acute myocardial infarction group (AMI group,n=35), unstable angina pectoris group (UAP group,n=40) and stable angina pectoris group (SAP group,n=25). At the same time, 30 healthy controls were chosen into control group. The percentages of peripheral CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (Treg) and monocyte CD36 were detected by using flow cytometer, and meanwhile the levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-17 (IL-17) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were detected in all groups.Results The percentage of CD4+CD25+Treg was (8.60±1.55)%in AMI group and (8.17±1.43)% in UAP group, and were lower than that in control group [(10.40±1.43)%] and SAP group [(10.72±1.66)%, allP<0.05]. The percentage of monocyte CD36 increased in SAP group, AMI group and UAP group compared with control group, and was higher in AMI group and UAP group than that in SAP group (allP<0.05). The levels of hs-CRP, IL-17 and TNF-α showed an ascending trend in all groups (allP<0.05). The results of correlation analysis showed that the percentages of CD4+CD25+Treg and monocyte CD36 were not correlated to levels of inflammatory factors including hs-CRP, IL-17 and TNF-α (allP>0.05) in CHD patients. Conclusion The instability of coronary artery atherosclerotic plaque is related to inflammation and immune reactions, percentage of peripheral monocyte CD36 increases significantly, percentage of CD4+CD25+Treg decreases significantly, and levels of inflammatory factors increase in CHD patients.