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Background: The authors studied the plasma levels of E-selectin in a group of arteriopathic patients, before and after vasoactive and lipid-lowering treatment., Methods: The series consisted of 73 subjects (53 males, 20 females, aged 54 +/- 9 suffering from occlusive peripheral arteriopathy; 21 subjects with total cholesterol (TC) below 200 mg/dl were considered as normolipemics (group A); 24 subjects with TC between 200 and 240 mg/dl, mild hypercholesterolemics (group B); 18 with TC above 240 mg/dl, severe hypercholesterolemic (group C); 10 subjects who had high triglyceride values (above 200 mg/dl), (group D); 12 normal controls were also considered. All patients underwent a vasoactive treatment for 15 days; group B also underwent a standard hypolipidic diet (phase I NCEP, lipid 30% die) groups C and D underwent the same diet associated respectively with simvastatin (200 mg/die) and bezafibrate (400 mg/die). For each sample of plasma before and after treatment the determination of levels of E-selectin was carried out by an immunoenzymatic method (kit ELISA Amersham)., Results: In groups A-B-C-D a reduction of the plasma levels of E-selectin was found, which was significant (p < 0.05), for group C and D, compared to controls. In groups A-B-D significant changes of E-selectin were not found after treatment; in group C the difference between the values after treatment and at baseline was significant (p < 0.05)., Conclusions: The reduction of the E-selectin plasma levels was proportional to the values of total cholesterol and triglycerides; the chronicity and the dyslipidemia may be responsible for the basal diminished biosynthetic endothelial function; in the severe hypercholesterolemics the lipid-lowering treatment caused a significant decrease of E-selectin, due to a probable reduced endothelial irritation dependent on the hyperlipemic stress.

Background: The authors studied the plasmatic levels of E-selectin in a group of normolipemic and hyperlipemic arteriopathic patients., Methods: The series consisted of 73 subjects (53 male, 20 female, age 54 +/- 9) suffering from occlusive peripheral arteriopathy; 21 subjects with total cholesterol (TC) below 200 mg/dl were considered as normolipemics (group A), 24 subjects with TC between 200 and 240 mg/dl, mild hypercholesterolemics (group B), 18 with TC above 240 mg/dl, severe hypercholesterolemics (group C); 10 subjects had high triglyceride values (above 200 mg/dl), (group D); 12 normal controls were also considered. For each subject the determination of the E-selectin E-plasma levels was performed with an immunoenzymatic method (kit ELISA Amersham)., Results: In group A a value of E-s (4.03 +/- 0.37 ng/ml) statistically lower (p < 0.05) compared to normal controls (5.71 +/- 0.61 ng/ml) was found; in group B the E-s value (3.81 +/- 0.31 ng/ml) was slightly lower than that of group A; in group C the value of E-s was 3.53 +/- 0.23 ng/ml, statistically lower compared normal controls (p < 0.01) and to group A (p < 0.05); in group D the E-s value (3.24 +/- 0.23 ng/ml) was sharply reduced compared to controls (p < 0.01) and to groups A-B-C (p < 0.05)., Conclusions: The reduction or E-selectin, was proportional to the magnitude of total cholesterol and triglycerides; the chronicity of the vasculopathy and the dyslipidemia may be responsible for an impaired biosynthetic endothelial function.

Background: The authors carried out a study on the simultaneous modifications of nitrite, endothelin and E-selectin plasma levels after infusion of arginine (a precursor of nitric oxide endothelial synthesis) in normal and vasculopathic subjects., Methods: The series consisted of 24 female subjects (mean age 58 +/- 7) of which: 12 normal controls; 12 suffering from chronic cerebral vascular disease and coronary heart diseases. Each subject, after a venous blood withdrawal, received arginine (20 g over 2 hours); withdrawals were repeated after 60 and 120 minutes. The levels of total nitrites (NO2-, colorimetric method), endothelin (ET-1, ELISA method) and E-selectin (E-s, ELISA method) were determined on each plasma sample., Results: The levels of NO2-, specific end-products of nitric oxide, did not show significant changes after arginine infusion in the vasculopathic subjects (group B), whereas in the normal subjects (group A) a significant reduction was recorded. The ET-1 levels after arginine did not show significant differences between the two groups. The values of E-selectin presented no significant variations after arginine in the two groups. The basal values of nitrites, endothelin and E-selectin was significantly (p < 0.05) lower in group B than in group A., Conclusions: In conclusion, this study has demonstrated that arginine infusion did not alter the nitrite, endothelin and E-selectin plasma levels within two hours in vasculopathic subjects, suggesting a probable wide abiotrophic damage of the endothelial structures. The reduction of nitrites after arginine in the normal subjects may depend of an inverse organification process due to an enhanced bio-synthesis of nitric oxide.

Background: The authors carried out a study on the plasmatic levels of nitrites, which are the sole stable metabolites of nitric oxide (NO), in a group of subjects suffering from various clinical forms of coronary artery disease, aimed at evaluating the endothelial production of NO in acute and chronic ischemic conditions., Methods: Our series consisted of 104 female subjects (mean age 65 +/- 5) subdivided into: a) 10 subjects with acute coronary heart disease (myocardial infarction); b) 32 with chronic non hypertensive coronary heart disease (CHD); c) 30 with hypertensive CHD (arterial blood pressure over 160/95 mmHg); d) 32 with CHD and hypercholesterolemia (values over 250 mg/dl). Thirty-seven female subjects (mean age 58 +/- 7) without internistic diseases were considered as control subjects. For each sample the plasmatic levels of nitrites were determined by the Gutman and Hollywood method., Results: We discovered that in the patients with chronic coronary heart disease (CHD) the mean value of nitrites was 18 +/- 0.3 mumol/L, not significantly different from the controls (17 +/- 0.5 mumol/L). In the patients with acute CHD the nitrite plasma level were significantly (p < 0.05) higher (30 +/- 2.2 mumol/L) compared to the controls and the patients with chronic CHD. In the group of patients with hypertensive CHD the mean nitrite value was 20 +/- 0.6 mumol/L, significantly (p < 0.05) higher in comparison with the group of non-hypertensive CHD patients (14 +/- 0.3 mumol/L). In the subjects with CHD and hypercholesterolemia the mean value of nitrites was sharply elevated, (25 +/- 1.0 mumol/L), with a highly significant difference (p < 0.01) as compared to the normolipemic CHD patients., Conclusions: These results lead to the hypothesis that: strong NO production may play a compensatory and protective role during acute myocardial hypoxia; NO defective synthesis may depend on an exhaustive endothelial adjustment in subjects with long-term CHD; a significant increase of the relaxing factor in hypertensive conditions exists; a highly enhanced synthesis of the plasmatic nitrites in hypercholesterolemic patients means an engagement of NO to neutralize the endothelium-damaging molecular substances and particularly the oxided LDL.