title: Increased IL-17A in atrial fibrillation correlates with neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia and an independent risk factor for stroke among the elderly. A role for inflammation in the atrial remodeling as well as development and recurrence of AF is known.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare IL-17A between patients with different types of AF and healthy individuals.
  
  
  METHODS
  IL-17A was measured in sera of 112 patients and 107 healthy age/sex-matched controls using ELISA assay. In sera of 26 patients with elevated IL-17A (>1 Pg/ml), CCL5 and CCL18 levels were also measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  IL-17A was significantly increased in patients with AF compared to controls (1.28 ± 3.5 vs. 0.19 ± 0.64 Pg/ml, p=0.001). There was no significant difference in the level of IL-17A between different types of AF. IL-17A was significantly higher in patients with a history of coronary artery bypass graft compared to other patients (p=0.01). A significant positive correlation between IL-17A and CCL18 concentration was found (p=0.001). An increase in the Neutrophil/Lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was observed in patients with elevated serum IL-17A compared to other patients (p=0.006). Male patients showed higher increase in NLR (p=0.007) which was accompanied by a decrease in CCL5 (p=0.000) and a marginal increase in CCL18 (p=0.085) compared to females. There was an increase in CCL5 levels in patients receiving Acetylsalicylic Acid (ASA) therapy (p=0.046).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The increase in IL-17A levels is related to the AF pathology mediated by neutrophils and monocytes. The current study signifies the role of immune cells and cytokines in the pathology of AF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Hossein
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Nikoo
authors.forename: Seyed Rahmatollah
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Taghavian
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Golmoghaddam
authors.forename: Narges
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Arandi
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abdi Ardakani
authors.forename: Mehrnoosh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Doroudchi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001241:Aspirin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018946:Chemokine CCL5 / Q000097:blood; D019742:Chemokines, CC / Q000097:blood; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000276:immunology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: C111792:CCL18 protein, human; D018946:Chemokine CCL5; D019742:Chemokines, CC; D020381:Interleukin-17; D001241:Aspirin