Serum Interleukin-15 Concentration in Patients With Essential Hypertension

• Published in: American journal of hypertension 2005-08, Vol.18 (8), p.1019-1025
• Main Authors: Kaibe, Masaharu, Ohishi, Mitsuru, Ito, Norihisa, Yuan, Ming, Takagi, Takashi, Terai, Minako, Tatara, Yuji, Komai, Norio, Rakugi, Hiromi, Ogihara, Toshio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Arterial hypertension. Arterial hypotension; Biological and medical sciences; Blood and lymphatic vessels; C-Reactive Protein - metabolism; Cardiology. Vascular system; cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular Diseases - blood; Cardiovascular Diseases - etiology; Clinical manifestations. Epidemiology. Investigative techniques. Etiology; Experimental diseases; Female; hs-CRP; Humans; Hypertension - blood; Hypertension - complications; Hypertension - pathology; IL-15; IL-6; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 - blood; Interleukin-15 - blood; Logistic Models; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 - blood
• ISSN: 0895-7061; 1879-1905; 1941-7225
• DOI: 10.1016/j.amjhyper.2005.02.014

Interleukin (IL)-15 is one of the cytokines produced by neutrophils and monocytes/macrophages, and its expression is found immunohistochemically in inflammatory cells adjacent to vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques. However, the influence of systemic IL-15 on cardiovascular disease is still unclear. Therefore, we designed clinical investigations to clarify the relationship between cardiovascular complications and serum IL-15 levels. Three hundred ninety-nine patients with essential hypertension were analyzed. We divided the study subjects into the following three groups according to the modified World Health Organization–International Society of Hypertension classification of 1999: patients with no organ damage ( n = 213), patients with mild organ damage ( n = 128), and patients with severe organ damage ( n = 58). We measured serum IL-15, highly sensitive C reactive protein, IL-6, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule, and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule levels. Serum IL-15 concentration in patients with severe organ damage was significantly higher than that in those with no organ damage ( P < .01) and those with mild organ damage ( P < .01). Serum IL-15 concentration in patients with coronary artery disease or peripheral artery disease was significantly higher than that in those without coronary artery disease or peripheral artery disease. Moreover, serum IL-15 concentration in patients with lacunar infarction was significantly higher than that in those without lacunar infarction ( P < .005). By multiple linear logistic regression analysis, serum IL-15 concentration was independently correlated with cardiovascular disease. These data suggest that a systemic inflammatory response involving IL-15 might be involved in the occurrence of cardiovascular disease in patients with essential hypertension.