title: NK cell compartment in patients with coronary heart disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Viral and bacterial infections have been considered as a risk factor for Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). NK cells, as a first line of defense against those infections, may play a role in CHD development. Thus, the main aim of our study was to determine NK cell compartment in patients with CHD undergoing coronary artery by-pass grafting.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ninety three patients with CHD were included into the study; the control group consisted of 49 healthy volunteers. As compared to controls, CHD patients had lower NK cytotoxic activity. CHD group had also a decreased absolute number and percentage of total NK cells and CD3-CD56dim cytotoxic NK subset. In addition, we observed tendency toward lower percentage of the CD3-CD56bright regulatory NK subset and CD3-CD56+IFN-gamma+ cells in CHD patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data indicate that CHD is associated with an impairment of NK cells compartment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Immunology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Łukasz
authors.initials: Ł
authors.lastname: Hak
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Immunology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Jolanta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Myśliwska
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Immunology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Więckiewicz
authors.affiliation: Academic Clinic of Cardiosurgery, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Krzysztof
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Szyndler
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Immunology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Trzonkowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Janusz
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Siebert
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Immunology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Myśliwski