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Periodic vs constant high glucose in inducing pro-inflammatory cytokine expression in human coronary artery

Tingsong Liu1, Jianbin Gong, Yitian Chen

  • 1Department of Cardiology, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing 210002, Jiangsu, China. liutingsong@yahoo.com.cn

Inflammation Research : Official Journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [Et Al.]
|April 30, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Periodic high glucose, mimicking fluctuating blood sugar in diabetes, triggers a stronger inflammatory response in human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) compared to constant high glucose. This finding highlights the detrimental impact of glucose variability on cardiovascular health.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Biology
  • Endothelial Cell Function
  • Metabolic Disease Research

Background:

  • Diabetes mellitus is associated with increased cardiovascular risk.
  • Hyperglycemia, particularly fluctuating levels, is implicated in adverse cardiovascular outcomes.
  • Endothelial dysfunction plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease in diabetes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the in vitro inflammatory responses of human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) to constant versus periodic high glucose.
  • To compare the effects of different glucose exposure patterns on key inflammatory markers.

Main Methods:

  • Human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) were exposed to normal glucose, constant high glucose, periodic high glucose (alternating every 6 hours), or mannitol for 72 hours.
  • Concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in cell culture supernatants were measured using ELISA.
  • Messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of IL-6, TNF-α, and ICAM-1 were quantified using real-time quantitative PCR.

Main Results:

  • Periodic high glucose induced a significantly more intense inflammatory response in HCAECs compared to normal and constant high glucose.
  • Elevated levels of IL-6, TNF-α, and ICAM-1 were observed in the supernatants of cells exposed to periodic high glucose (P < 0.05).
  • mRNA expression of these pro-inflammatory cytokines was also significantly higher in cells subjected to periodic high glucose compared to constant high glucose and normal glucose (P < 0.05).

Conclusions:

  • In vitro, periodic high glucose exposure elicits a more pronounced inflammatory response in human coronary artery endothelial cells than constant high glucose.
  • These findings suggest that glucose variability may contribute significantly to endothelial inflammation and cardiovascular complications in diabetes.
Abstract

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