title: The relation of aggression, hostility, and anger to lipopolysaccharide-stimulated tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha by blood monocytes from normal men.
abstract: Aggression, hostility, and anger significantly predict morbidity and mortality from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ACVD). ACVD is believed to be an inflammatory disease characterized by increased expression of a number of proinflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha. This study examined the relation of aggression, hostility, and anger to monocyte-associated TNF-alpha expression following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. Participants were 62 healthy, non-smoking men (aged 18-45 years). Hostility, anger, verbal, and physical aggression were assessed using the Buss-Perry aggression questionnaire (BPAQ). LPS-stimulated TNF-alpha expression was determined using dual-color flow cytometry gating for CD14(+) cells. After controlling for age, race, education, and alcohol use, scores on the hostility (p=.013), physical aggression (p=.010), and verbal aggression (p=.034) subscales, and the total score (p=.007) on the BPAQ were positively associated with LPS-stimulated TNF-alpha expression. The results suggest that hostility and aggression are associated with an increased expression of TNF-alpha, a cytokine implicated in ACVD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Box 3328, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27110, USA. ecs.jr@duke.edu
authors.forename: Edward C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Suarez
authors.forename: James G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kuhn
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000502:physiology*; D000786:Anger / Q000502:physiology*; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000523:psychology; D006791:Hostility; D006801:Humans; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009000:Monocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D015213:Neuroimmunomodulation / Q000502:physiology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha