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Updated: Aug 22, 2026
Quantification of Monocyte Transmigration and Foam Cell Formation from Individuals with Chronic Inflammatory Conditions
Published on: October 17, 2017
Tissue factor expression is decreased in monocytes obtained from blood during Mediterranean or high carbohydrate
M D Bravo-Herrera1, J López-Miranda, C Marín
1Unidad de Lípidos y Arteriosclerosis, Hospital Universitario Reina Sofia, Córdoba, Spain.
Background:
Mediterranean and high carbohydrate diets play a dominant role in the prevention of atherosclerosis as a result of their lipid lowering effect. However, diets can also have a protective effect in other ways, such as modulating tissue factor expression in circulating monocytes.
Methods And Results:
Forty-one subjects participated in this randomised crossover study consisting of three dietary periods: a saturated fat enriched diet (SFA), a low fat and high carbohydrate diet (CHO), and a Mediterranean diet. Plasma levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, low density lipoprotein (LDL-C) and high density lipoprotein (HDL-C) were determined at the end of each dietary period, as was the expression of tissue factor (TF) in circulating monocytes isolated from blood samples. Total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C and TF expression were lower after the Mediterranean and high carbohydrate diets than after the SFA diet, and there was a positive correlation between LDL-C levels and monocyte TF expression.
Conclusions:
High carbohydrate and Mediterranean diets reduce the expression of TF in circulating monocytes.
