OBJECTIVES: We sought to test the hypothesis of whether inflammatory cell infiltration in patients dying of an acute myocardial infarction (MI) is a multifocal event involving multiple coronary branches. BACKGROUND: Coronary instability is thought to reflect local disruption of a single vulnerable plaque. However, previous postmortem studies have not addressed the question of whether activation of inflammatory cells, particularly T lymphocytes, is limited to the culprit lesion only or rather diffuse in the coronary circulation. METHODS: We performed a systematic flow cytometric study in three groups of autopsied patients (group 1 = acute MI; group 2 = old MI; group 3 = no ischemic heart disease). Cell suspensions of enzymatically digested coronary arteries were stained for flow cytometry with CD3, CD68, alpha-smooth muscle actin, and human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR antibodies. RESULTS: The coronary plaques showed: 1) a higher proportion of inflammatory cells in groups 1 and 2 than in group 3; 2) a higher percentage of T lymphocytes in group 1 than in group 2 (11.67 +/- 0.70% vs. 5.67 +/- 0.74%, p = 0.001) and in group 2 than in group 3 (p = 0.008); and 3) diffuse cell activation in the whole coronary tree of group 1, but not of group 2 subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that lymphocytes may play a key role in coronary instability by determining activation of various cellular types throughout the coronary circulation. Activated T lymphocytes and their products may well represent a new target in both the treatment and prevention of acute coronary syndromes.
OBJECTIVES: We sought to test the hypothesis of whether inflammatory cell infiltration in patients dying of an acute myocardial infarction (MI) is a multifocal event involving multiple coronary branches. BACKGROUND: Coronary instability is thought to reflect local disruption of a single vulnerable plaque. However, previous postmortem studies have not addressed the question of whether activation of inflammatory cells, particularly T lymphocytes, is limited to the culprit lesion only or rather diffuse in the coronary circulation. METHODS: We performed a systematic flow cytometric study in three groups of autopsied patients (group 1 = acute MI; group 2 = old MI; group 3 = no ischemic heart disease). Cell suspensions of enzymatically digested coronary arteries were stained for flow cytometry with CD3, CD68, alpha-smooth muscle actin, and human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR antibodies. RESULTS: The coronary plaques showed: 1) a higher proportion of inflammatory cells in groups 1 and 2 than in group 3; 2) a higher percentage of T lymphocytes in group 1 than in group 2 (11.67 +/- 0.70% vs. 5.67 +/- 0.74%, p = 0.001) and in group 2 than in group 3 (p = 0.008); and 3) diffuse cell activation in the whole coronary tree of group 1, but not of group 2 subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that lymphocytes may play a key role in coronary instability by determining activation of various cellular types throughout the coronary circulation. Activated T lymphocytes and their products may well represent a new target in both the treatment and prevention of acute coronary syndromes.
Authors: Kim A Eagle; Geoffrey S Ginsburg; Kiran Musunuru; William C Aird; Robert S Balaban; Susan K Bennett; Roger S Blumenthal; Shaun R Coughlin; Karina W Davidson; Edward D Frohlich; Philip Greenland; Gail P Jarvik; Peter Libby; Carl J Pepine; Jeremy N Ruskin; Arthur E Stillman; Jennifer E Van Eyk; H Eser Tolunay; Cheryl L McDonald; Sidney C Smith Journal: Circulation Date: 2010-03-30 Impact factor: 29.690
Authors: Alessio Annovazzi; Elena Bonanno; Marcello Arca; Calogero D'Alessandria; Antonella Marcoccia; Luigi G Spagnoli; Francesco Violi; Francesco Scopinaro; Giorgio De Toma; Alberto Signore Journal: Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging Date: 2005-10-12 Impact factor: 9.236
Authors: Chad E Brokopp; Roman Schoenauer; Peter Richards; Stefan Bauer; Christine Lohmann; Maximilian Y Emmert; Benedikt Weber; Stephan Winnik; Elena Aikawa; Kirk Graves; Michele Genoni; Peter Vogt; Thomas F Lüscher; Christoph Renner; Simon P Hoerstrup; Christian M Matter Journal: Eur Heart J Date: 2011-02-02 Impact factor: 29.983