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Updated: May 22, 2026

Single-cell Analysis of Immunophenotype and Cytokine Production in Peripheral Whole Blood via Mass Cytometry
Published on: June 26, 2018
Biomarkers of subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with autoimmune disorders
Elisabetta Profumo1, Manuela Di Franco, Brigitta Buttari
1Dipartimento di Malattie Infettive, Parassitarie ed Immunomediate, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy.
Abstract:
Atherosclerosis is accelerated in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). We investigated a possible association of oxidized low-density lipoproteins (ox-LDLs), nitric oxide (NO), 3-nitrotyrosine, vitamin A, vitamin E, and β-carotene serum levels with subclinical atherosclerosis in RA and PsA. By the use of ELISA, we observed higher ox-LDL levels in patients with intima-media thickness (IMT) > 1 than in patients with IMT ≤ 1 and a negative correlation between NO levels and IMT values. By the use of high-performance liquid chromatography, we determined higher levels of vitamin A in patients with PsA and IMT ≤ 1 than in controls and lower levels of β-carotene in patients with RA and PsA than in controls. β-carotene concentrations were negatively correlated to the duration of disease in RA. Our study confirms that ox-LDLs and NO may be markers of accelerated atherosclerosis in RA and PsA whereas vitamins seem to be associated only to the presence of the autoimmune disorders.
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