title: Trace Element Changes in Thoracic Aortic Dissection.
abstract: Thoracic aortic dissection is a life-threatening condition with an incompletely understood pathogenesis. Trace elements are essential for the functioning of different processes in the body, including the immune system and associated responses to infection/inflammation. Because inflammation may be part of the pathogenesis of thoracic aortic dissection, we investigated whether trace element changes associated with inflammation occur in serum and tissue samples during the disease. The study included 21 patients undergoing surgery for thoracic aortic dissection, 10 forensic autopsy specimens for tissue controls and 23 healthy blood donors for serum controls. Levels of magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), vanadium (V), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), selenium (Se), cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg) were measured in the aortic tissue and serum by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). In the serum, Ca, V, Cu and Zn decreased, whereas Fe increased. In the tissue, Cu and Zn decreased and Fe tended to increase. The Cu/Zn ratio in the serum, a marker of infection/inflammation, did not change in the patients. Concerning trace element changes in the serum and tissue, our data do not support the hypothesis that inflammation is involved in the pathogenesis of thoracic aortic dissection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, Infectious Diseases, Uppsala University, University Hospital, S-751 85, Uppsala, Sweden. marie.edvinsson@medsci.uu.se.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Edvinsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, Infectious Diseases, Uppsala University, University Hospital, S-751 85, Uppsala, Sweden.|Risk Benefit Assessment Department, National Food Agency, Box 622, 751 26, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Nils-Gunnar
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Ilbäck
authors.affiliation: Research in Metal Biology, Rudbeck Laboratory, Uppsala University, 751 85, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Frisk
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Sciences, Thoracic Surgery, Uppsala University, 751 85, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thelin
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, Infectious Diseases, Uppsala University, University Hospital, S-751 85, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nyström-Rosander
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000378:metabolism*; D017545:Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D014131:Trace Elements
keywords: Aortic dissection; Copper; Inflammation; Iron; Zinc