Involvement of -308 TNF-alpha and 1267 Hsp70-2 polymorphisms and zinc status in the susceptibility of coronary artery disease (CAD) in old patients.
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is characterized by an inflammatory status and it represents the major cause of death in elderly. Zinc deficiency and inflammatory genes within major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region are implicated in ischaemic heart diseases. TNF-alpha is present in coronary artery plaques and may provoke plaque instability. Hsp70 plays instead a pro-atherogenic role, via proinflammatory cytokine production, in atherosclerotic lesions contributing to plaque rupture. Contradictory data report the association between -308 TNF-alpha polymorphism and CAD, while no investigations exist on Hsp70-2 gene in CAD. In the current study, we analysed -308 TNF-alpha and 1267 Hsp70-2 …
CD14 C (-260)T polymorphism, atherosclerosis, elderly: Role of cytokines and metallothioneins.
Abstract Background CD14 receptor is a mediator of the inflammatory response to bacterial products. A functional polymorphism in the promoter of the CD14 gene (CD14 C-260T) was associated with coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis albeit with conflicting data. Methods To better clarify the role of CD14 in atherosclerosis, we typed CD14 C-260T polymorphism in old Italian (Central of Italy) atherosclerotic patients with carotid stenosis related to lipid assessment, inflammation (soluble CD14, IL-6 serum levels) and IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10, Metallothioneins (MT) gene expressions in carotid plaques. Results There was an increased frequency of TT homozygotes in patients when compared to controls…