Patients with insulin-dependent diabetes or coronary heart disease following rehabilitation express serum fractalkine levels similar to those in healthy control subjects

Figures & data

Table 1 Characteristics of the investigated study populationsa

Parametersb	Unit	Control	IDDM	CHD	P valueb
Age	years	52.7 ± 11	64.0 ± 9	55.5 ± 9	<0.001
BMI		26.6 ± 5	28.2 ± 5	26.8 ± 4	0.136
Male	%	82	78	84	0.735
Active smokers	%	34	10	2	<0.001
Hypertension	%	20	90	98	<0.001
CHD-FH	%	6	18	42	<0.001
Statins	%	4	96	96	<0.001
β-Blockers	%	10	68	98	<0.001
ACE inhibitors	%	8	62	56	<0.001
ARB	%	2	14	16	<0.001
Diuretics	%	10	42	20	<0.001

a Notes: Patients with insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM; n = 47) or coronary heart disease (CHD; n = 46) were compared to healthy controls (n = 50). Values are presented as mean ± standard deviation;

b The P-value for comparison between all three groups was calculated by ANOVA. The values of the categorical variables are compared by chi-squared test.

Abbreviations: ACE, angiotensin-converting enzyme; ARB, angiotensin receptor blocker; ANOVA, analysis of variance; BMI, body mass index; CHD-FH, family history of coronary heart disease.

Figure 1 Fraktalkine levels in patients following rehabilitaiton are not higher than fractalkine levels in healthy control subjects. Blood samples of diabetic patients (IDDM; n = 47) and coronary heart disease patients (CHD; n = 46) following rehabilitation and blood samples of apparently healthy volunteers (Con; n = 50) were measured by fractalkine ELISA. Mean and standard error of the mean are presented. Significances are given above the columns.

Abbreviations: CHD, coronary heart disease; Con, control; ELISA, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; IDDM, insulin-dependent diabetic patients.

Figure 2 Induction of postprandial hyperlipemia reduces fractalkine levels in healthy control subjects, but not in patients following rehabilitation. Blood samples of IDDM and CHD patients following rehabilitation and blood samples of healthy subjects (Con) were collected at time-point 0. Immediately thereafter a postprandial hyperlipemia was induced by a defined meal of 1,285 kcal/m² body suface (105 g fat + 300 mg cholesterol + 48 g carbohydrates + 32 g protein. At two time-points later (four and eight hours, respectively) blood samples were taken and measured by fractalkine ELISA. Data are presented as a box blot (SigmaPlot). The whiskers and box lines indicate the 10th, 25th, median, 75th, and 90th percentiles. The broken line indicates the mean. Extra symbols indicate outliers. Analysis by one-way ANOVA showed a significant difference between the fractalkine levels at the time-points of the control subjects (P = 0.004), whereas levels for the diabetic (P = 0.080) and the CAD (P = 0.574) patients were not significantly different at the given time-points. Post-hoc analysis at the 0.01 level showed the same result; however, diabetic patients at the time-point 0 and 4 were different at the 0.05 level (P = 0.033).

Abbreviations: ANOVA, analysis of variance; CAD, coronary artery disease; CHD, coronary heart disease; Con, control; ELISA, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; IDDM, insulin-dependent diabetic patients.

Figure 3 Reduction in fractalkine levels in lipofundin-treated cultures of vessel wall cells. Human vascular smooth muscle cells (20,000 SMC/cm²) were cultured in 24-well plates. After 24 hours the medium was changed and fractalkine production induced by costimulation with interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor-α (200 U/ml, 20 ng/ml, respectively). Parallel cultures were incubated in the presence of various concentrations of lipofundin. After 24 hours, the supernatants were harvested and measured by fractalkine ELISA. Two experiments provided similar results.

Abbreviations: ELISA, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; SMC, smooth muscle cells.

Table 2 Classical markers of inflammation and lipid metabolisma

Parameter	Unit	Control	IDDM	CHD	P valueb
CRP	mg/L	2 ± 3	10 ± 16	6 ± 7	0.001
HDL-C	mg/dL	45 ± 12	39 ± 22	35 ± 7	0.009
LDL-C	mg/dL	127 ± 35	79 ± 38	68 ± 21	0.000
TC	mg/dL	205 ± 35	151 ± 50	124 ± 27	0.000
Triglycerides	mg/dl	160 ± 113	145 ± 13	101 ± 45	0.013

a Notes: Patients with insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM; n = 47) or coronary heart disease (CHD; n = 46) were compared to healthy controls (n = 50) at timepoint 0. Values are presented as mean ± standard deviation;

b The p-value for comparison between all three groups was calculated by ANOVA.

Abbreviations: CRP, C -reactive protein; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; TC, total cholesterol.