Article Text
PDF
Abstract
Background Systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE) is associated with an unexplained increase cardiovascular risk.The nature of the factors that contribute to progression of atherosclerosiswere identified using the method for determining the atherogenicity of blood serum in cell culturein cell culture (in vitro). The term ‘atherogenicity’ is meant as the ability of the serum and/or its components to induce intracellular accumulation of cholesterol in cultured cells.
Objective To determine atherogenicity of blood serum in womenwith untreatedlupus nephritis(LN),and to compare it withuntreatedSLE women without LN, andin healthy women.
Methods Fifteenwomen(median age 29 [22;39] years) with active untreated LN (mediandisease duration 15 [3;45]months;were enrolled in group 1 the study. Twenty two SLE women without LN(median age 31[21;41] years, median disease duration 10[5;38] months;were included in group2.SLADAI 2Kwas higher in patients of group 1 (21 [12;39]) compared to patients of group 2 (12[6;18], p<0,05). The control group consisted of 30women, median age 31 [25;39] years. Atherogenicity of blood serum was determined in the culture of murine macrophages.Peritoneal macrophages were isolated from the ascitic fluid of the line mice according to the generally accepted methodJ. Goldstein et al (1979y). Serum atherogenicity was determined by the accumulation of intracellular cholesterol induced by 10% of the blood serum of the patients, and expressed as a percentage of the content of cholesterol in the control cells.
Results The ability to stimulate the accumulation of cholesterol esters in murine macrophageswas the highest in women of group 1 compared to group 2 (305±141% vs 180±52%, p<0,05) and control group (305±141% vs 127±42%, p<0,001). The blood serum of group 1 and group 2 caused a 6–7-and 3–4-fold accumulation of intracellular cholesterol, respectively, which significantly differed from healthy women; andwas not associated with age, duration of the disease, lipid spectrum.
Conclusion The highest atherogenicity was found in blood serum of LN women. Serums of women with untreated SLE without LN too maystimulate the accumulation of cholesterol in mouse macrophages unlikeofhealthy women.
This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.