title: [Lipoprotein(a), its autoantibodies, and circulating T lymphocyte subpopulations as independent risk factors for coronary artery atherosclerosis].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the role of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] as a potential autoantigen causing the activation of immunocompetent cells in atherosclerosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 104 men with stable coronary artery (CA) disease and different degrees of progressive coronary atherosclerosis were examined. Clinical blood analysis was carried out and lymphocyte subpopulations (CD4+, Th1, Th17, and Treg) were determined using immunofluorescence and flow cytometry. In addition, the indicators of blood lipid composition, Lp(a), autoantibody (autoAb) titer to Lp(a), and low-density lipoproteins (LDL), and the lymphocyte activation marker sCD25 were also measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Lp(a) level was shown to predict the severity of CA lesions (β=0.28, p<0.05), regardless of age, the level of cholesterol, different T-lymphocyte subpopulations, sCD25, and autoAb. A combination of the concentration of Lp(a) above 11.8 mg/dl, that of Th17 over 11.4∙103 cells/ml and the reduced levels of regulatory T cells and IL-10-producing CD4+ T cells showed a manifold increase in the risk of severe and progressive CA atherosclerosis. There was a direct correlation of the blood level of Th1 with that of IgG autoAb specific to all atherogenic apoB-containing lipoproteins, including Lp(a). There was an inverse correlations of the lymphocyte activation marker sCD25 with IgM anti-Lp(a) autoAb titers (r=-0.36; p<0.005), but this was less significant with autoAbs to native and oxidized LDL (r=-0.21 and r=-0.24; p<0.05, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The slightly elevated Lp(a) concentration along with changes in the level of T lymphocyte subpopulations was first shown to significantly potentiate the risk of progressive and multiple CA lesion in the examinees. The correlation of IgM anti-Lp(a) autoAb with the lymphocyte activation marker sCD25 and that of IgG anti-Lp(a) autoAb with Th1 have demonstrated that Lp(a) is involved in the autoimmune inflammatory processes in atherosclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Russian Cardiology Research and Production Complex, Ministry of Health of Russia, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: O I
authors.initials: OI
authors.lastname: Afanasievа
authors.affiliation: Russian Cardiology Research and Production Complex, Ministry of Health of Russia, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Pylaeva
authors.affiliation: Russian Cardiology Research and Production Complex, Ministry of Health of Russia, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Klesareva
authors.affiliation: Russian Cardiology Research and Production Complex, Ministry of Health of Russia, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Potekhina
authors.affiliation: Russian Cardiology Research and Production Complex, Ministry of Health of Russia, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: S I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Provatorov
authors.affiliation: Russian Cardiology Research and Production Complex, Ministry of Health of Russia, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Afanasieva
authors.affiliation: Russian Cardiology Research and Production Complex, Ministry of Health of Russia, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Krasnikova
authors.affiliation: Russian Cardiology Research and Production Complex, Ministry of Health of Russia, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: V P
authors.initials: VP
authors.lastname: Masenko
authors.affiliation: Russian Cardiology Research and Production Complex, Ministry of Health of Russia, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: T I
authors.initials: TI
authors.lastname: Arefieva
authors.affiliation: Russian Cardiology Research and Production Complex, Ministry of Health of Russia, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Pokrovsky
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D017270:Lipoprotein(a) / Q000097:blood*; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D017270:Lipoprotein(a); D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL