title: Serum Immune Mediators Independently Associate with Atherosclerosis in the Left (But Not Right) Carotid Territory of Older Individuals.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Disturbance in the carotid arteries strongly predicts cerebrovascular events and correlates with a systemic inflammatory milieu. We investigated the relationship of a profile of 10 circulating inflammatory mediators with measures of carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) in elderly subjects, taking traditional risk factors into account.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical inspection for present and past chronic conditions and events, as well as biochemical and anthropometric measurements, was performed for patients in ambulatory setting. Scores of cIMT were obtained bilaterally in the distal common carotid artery wall. Serum concentrations of cytokines were assessed by bead-based, multiplexed flow cytometry immunoassays.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Correlation analysis between log-transformed cytokines levels implicated the mediators interleukin-1β (IL1β), IL6, IL8, IL10, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) (P ≤ .005) with scores of the left cIMT. Stepwise multivariate regression showed that TNFα, IL1β, and IL6 levels accounted for most of the variance in the cIMT scores. Comparison of cytokine levels across increasing tertiles of the left cIMT reproduced the positive association with TNFα and IL1β levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Five out of ten immune mediators independently correlated with cIMT of older subjects in a territory-sensitive manner. This possible contribution of immune mediators to an atherosclerotic process probably relates to the inflammaging process.
authors.affiliation: Universidade de Brasília (UnB), Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
authors.forename: Wilcelly
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Machado-Silva
authors.affiliation: Universidade de Brasília (UnB), Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
authors.forename: Adriane Dallanora
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Henriques
authors.affiliation: Universidade Católica de Brasília (UCB-DF), Taguatinga, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gleim Dias
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.affiliation: Universidade Católica de Brasília (UCB-DF), Taguatinga, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lucy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.affiliation: Faculdades Promove, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
authors.forename: Aparecido Pimentel
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ciro José
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Brito
authors.affiliation: Universidade Católica de Brasília (UCB-DF), Taguatinga, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cláudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Córdova
authors.affiliation: Universidade de Brasília (UnB), Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil; Universidade Católica de Brasília (UCB-DF), Taguatinga, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
authors.forename: Clayton Franco
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Moraes
authors.affiliation: Universidade de Brasília (UnB), Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil. Electronic address: otavionobrega@unb.br.
authors.forename: Otávio Toledo
authors.initials: OT
authors.lastname: Nóbrega
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001938:Brazil; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000276:immunology; D017536:Carotid Artery, Common / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D057166:High-Throughput Screening Assays; D006801:Humans; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000097:blood*; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D016207:Cytokines; D018836:Inflammation Mediators
keywords: Atherosclerosis; aging; carotid artery; inflammation; interleukin; intima-media thickness