title: Early upregulation of endothelial adhesion molecules in obese hypertensive men.
abstract: Upregulation of endothelial adhesion molecules is the earliest step of atherogenesis. Whether obesity induces endothelial adhesin upregulation is unknown. To address this topic, circulating vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), E-selectin, and von Willebrand factor (vWF) concentrations were evaluated in 22 obese hypertensive (51.4+/-4.6 years [mean+/-SD age]), 19 obese normotensive (50.6+/-3.8 years), 18 nonobese hypertensive (52.3+/-3.9 years), and 16 nonobese normotensive (52. 4+/-3.5 years) men without other risk factors or overt atherosclerosis. All measurements were repeated in the obese subgroups after weight loss induced by 12 weeks of caloric restriction. Basal circulating VCAM-1 levels were similar between the 2 obese groups but were higher (P<0.0001) than in the 2 nonobese groups. No differences were found between nonobese hypertensives and normotensives. Serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol was weakly correlated with plasma soluble VCAM-1 levels in pooled, obese subjects (r=0.362, P=0.02). Plasma soluble adhesin and vWF concentrations decreased significantly after weight loss in obese hypertensives (VCAM-1 P=0.03, ICAM-1 P=0.004, E-selectin P<0.0001, and vWF P=0.003) and normotensives (VCAM-1 P=0.04, ICAM-1 P=0.003, E-selectin P<0.0001, and vWF P<0.0001). Body mass index was correlated with plasma E-selectin concentrations at baseline and after weight loss in obese hypertensives (r=0.501, P=0.018 and r=0. 466, P=0.03, respectively) and obese normotensives (r=0.523, P=0.021 and r=0.460, P=0.05, respectively). In conclusion, our data show that obesity per se induces early endothelial activation in hypertensive and normotensive men. Weight loss counteracted endothelial activation in both obese hypertensive and normotensive men.
authors.affiliation: University "La Sapienza," Cattedra di I Clinica Medica, Andrea Cesalpino Foundation, Rome. clferri@axrma.uniroma1.it
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ferri
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Desideri
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Valenti
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bellini
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pasin
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Santucci
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: De Mattia
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D019040:E-Selectin / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D015854:Up-Regulation; D019010:Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000097:blood*; D015431:Weight Loss; D014841:von Willebrand Factor / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D019040:E-Selectin; D019010:Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1; D014841:von Willebrand Factor; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1