Increased plasma monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 level in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension.
OBJECTIVE
Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), a pro-inflammatory chemokine, has potent chemoattractant activity for monocytes/macrophages. We sought to investigate the clinical significance of MCP-1 in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH).


METHODS
This study included 28 patients with IPAH, seven patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) related to collagen vascular disease, and 13 healthy subjects. Plasma MCP-1 levels were measured together with serum IL-6 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) levels.


RESULTS
Circulating levels of MCP-1, IL-6 and TNF-alpha were significantly higher in patients with IPAH than in healthy controls, although they were lower than in patients with PAH related to collagen vascular disease. Plasma MCP-1 did not significantly correlate with any haemodynamic variables. However, plasma MCP-1 levels correlated negatively with the disease duration (time from symptom onset).


CONCLUSIONS
Plasma MCP-1 levels were elevated in patients with IPAH, and this elevation was particularly marked in the early stage of disease. Taking into account the chemoattractant activity of MCP-1, these results imply a contribution of MCP-1 to the development of pulmonary hypertension.
Department of Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering, National Cardiovascular Center Research Institute, Osaka, Japan.
Takefumi
T
Itoh
Noritoshi
N
Nagaya
Hatsue
H
Ishibashi-Ueda
Shingo
S
Kyotani
Hideo
H
Oya
Fumio
F
Sakamaki
Hiroshi
H
Kimura
Norifumi
N
Nakanishi
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D018932:Chemokine CCL2 / Q000097:blood*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011669:Pulmonary Wedge Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism
D015415:Biomarkers; C111835:CCL2 protein, human; D018932:Chemokine CCL2; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha