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Peripheral-blood dendritic cells in men with coronary heart disease

Hongyu Shi1, Junbo Ge, Weiyi Fang

  • 1Shanghai Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.

The American Journal of Cardiology
|August 19, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Coronary artery disease (CAD) patients show higher levels of dendritic cells (DCs), particularly myeloid DCs (mDCs), compared to controls. This increase in mDCs may contribute to the heightened T-helper type 1 (Th1) immune response observed in CAD.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • An imbalance in T-helper type 1 (Th1)/T-helper type 2 (Th2) immune responses, favoring Th1, is implicated in coronary artery disease (CAD).
  • Dendritic cells (DCs), including myeloid DCs (mDCs) and plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs), are key regulators of T-helper cell differentiation and immune responses.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the levels of total peripheral-blood dendritic cells (DCs) and their subsets (mDCs and pDCs) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).
  • To determine if DC subset distribution differs between CAD patients and healthy controls, potentially explaining the skewed Th1/Th2 balance in CAD.

Main Methods:

  • Peripheral blood samples were collected from 32 men undergoing coronary angiography, divided into a CAD group (n=21) and a control group (n=11).
  • A 3-color flow cytometry technique was used to quantify total DCs, mDCs (Lin1(-)HLA-DR(+)CD11c(+)), and pDCs (Lin1(-)HLA-DR(+)CD123(+)).

Main Results:

  • The absolute number of total peripheral-blood DCs was significantly higher in the CAD group compared to the control group (p=0.04).
  • Both the percentage and absolute number of the mDC subset were significantly increased in CAD patients (p<0.05).
  • The pDC fraction remained similar between groups, but the mDC/pDC ratio was significantly elevated in the CAD group (p=0.01).

Conclusions:

  • Patients with coronary artery disease exhibit significantly higher numbers of total peripheral-blood dendritic cells.
  • The observed increase in the myeloid DC subset in CAD patients may be a contributing factor to the enhanced Th1 immune response characteristic of the disease.

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