title: Altered plasma levels of cytokines in patients with ischemic heart disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cytokines play an important role in mediating inflammatory-proliferative responses, including atherosclerosis. Alterations in the plasma levels of cytokines in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD) remain to be examined.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the possible alterations in the plasma levels of cytokines in patients with IHD and in controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-one patients with IHD and 16 controls were studied. The cytokines measured in our study included interleukin-6, macrophage-colony-stimulating factor (MCSF), transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), and seven other major cytokines. The measurements were performed by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The MCSF levels were significantly higher in patients with IHD than they were in controls (P < 0.01), whereas the TGF-beta levels were significantly lower in patients with IHD than they were in controls (P < 0.01). Moreover, the levels of MCSF and those of TGF-beta were correlated negatively (P < 0.05). The interleukin-6 levels tended to be higher in patients with unstable angina. The plasma levels of other cytokines were below the detection levels in most cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results from studies in vitro suggested that the process of atherosclerosis is accelerated and inhibited by MCSF and TGF-beta, respectively. The present results thus suggest that the alterations in the plasma levels of MCSF and TGF-beta may be involved in the pathogenesis of IHD in humans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, St Mary Hospital, Kurume, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tashiro
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shimokawa
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Momohara
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tada
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Takeshita
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D016173:Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000097:blood*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D016207:Cytokines; D015850:Interleukin-6; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D016173:Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor