title: Serum interleukin-15 concentration in patients with essential hypertension.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Interleukin (IL)-15 is one of the cytokines produced by neutrophils and monocytes/macrophages, and its expression is found immunohistochemically in inflammatory cells adjacent to vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques. However, the influence of systemic IL-15 on cardiovascular disease is still unclear. Therefore, we designed clinical investigations to clarify the relationship between cardiovascular complications and serum IL-15 levels.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three hundred ninety-nine patients with essential hypertension were analyzed. We divided the study subjects into the following three groups according to the modified World Health Organization-International Society of Hypertension classification of 1999: patients with no organ damage (n = 213), patients with mild organ damage (n = 128), and patients with severe organ damage (n = 58). We measured serum IL-15, highly sensitive C reactive protein, IL-6, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule, and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule levels. Serum IL-15 concentration in patients with severe organ damage was significantly higher than that in those with no organ damage (P < .01) and those with mild organ damage (P < .01). Serum IL-15 concentration in patients with coronary artery disease or peripheral artery disease was significantly higher than that in those without coronary artery disease or peripheral artery disease. Moreover, serum IL-15 concentration in patients with lacunar infarction was significantly higher than that in those without lacunar infarction (P < .005). By multiple linear logistic regression analysis, serum IL-15 concentration was independently correlated with cardiovascular disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data suggest that a systemic inflammatory response involving IL-15 might be involved in the occurrence of cardiovascular disease in patients with essential hypertension.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Medicine, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaharu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaibe
authors.forename: Mitsuru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohishi
authors.forename: Norihisa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takagi
authors.forename: Minako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Terai
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tatara
authors.forename: Norio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Komai
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rakugi
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ogihara
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000097:blood; D019409:Interleukin-15 / Q000097:blood*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D019010:Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D019409:Interleukin-15; D019010:Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1; D002097:C-Reactive Protein