Plasma profiles of peripheral monocyte-related inflammatory markers in patients with arterial hypertension. Correlations with plasma endothelin-1

Background: This study investigates the plasma activity of inflammatory mediators such as granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), C-C chemokines and soluble adhesion molecules, produced by monocyte-endothelial cell adhesive interaction, in patients with arterial hypertension. Methods: We studied 66 untreated patients with mild to moderate arterial hypertension (hypercholesterolemic: 34, normocholesterolemic; 32) and 30 sex- and age-matched normocholesterolemic normotensive controls. Plasma concentrations of GM-CSF, macrophage chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha (MIP-1alpha), RANTES (regulated on activation normally T-cell expressed and secreted), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), as well as plasma endothelin-1 (ET-1), were determined in study population by ELISA and RIA, respectively. Results: Hypertensives exhibited significantly higher levels of GM-CSF (6.5 +/- 1.3 vs. 2.3 +/- 0.7 pg/ml, P = 0.099), MCP-1 (175 +/- 31 vs. 120 +/- 24 pg/ml, P = 0.0093), MIP-1alpha (23 +/- 4 vs. 15 +/- 2 pg/ml, P = 0.0089), RANTES (17 +/- 4 vs. 14 +/- 3 ng/ml, P = 0.047), sICAM-1 (235 +/- 39 vs. 187 +/- 21 ng/nl, P = 0.0041), sVCAM-1 (684 +/- 42 vs. 589 +/- 23 ng/ml, P=0.0045) and ET-1 (6.1 +/- 1.5 vs. 2.4 +/- 0.3 pg/ml, P = 0.0095) than those of normotensives. The normocholesterolemic hypertensives had significantly lower levels of GM-CSF, MCP-1, MIP-1alpha, sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 than hypercholesterolemic hypertensives but higher than normotensives. In hypertensives, ET-1 levels were significantly correlated with mean arterial pressure (r = 0.51, P = 0.028), MCP-1 values (r = 0.45, P = 0.047) and sICAM-1 levels (r = 0.64, P = 0.0090). Significant correlations were also found between LDL cholesterol values and plasma inflammatory factors GM-CSF (r = 0.58, P = 0.0088), MCP-1 (r = 0.49, P = 0.040) and sICAM-1 (r = 0.53, P = 0.034) in the hypercholesterolemic sub-group of hypertensives. Conclusions: Inflammatory markers of monocyte-endothelial cell adhesive interaction are elevated in hypertensives in comparison to normotensives and may be related to plasma ET-1 activity. The coexistence of hypercholesterolemia may enhance this inflammatory process induced by arterial hypertension. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.