Association of human cathelicidin (hCAP-18/LL-37) gene expression with cardiovascular disease risk factors.
Benachour. H H; Zaiou. M M; Samara. A A; Herbeth. B B; Pfister. M M; Lambert. D D; Siest. G G; Visvikis-Siest. S S
Key Findings
- In women, LL‑37 mRNA levels rise with higher BMI, waist size, blood pressure, and triglycerides, and drop with HDL‑C.
- In men, LL‑37 is higher with larger waist‑to‑hip ratio, higher blood pressure, triglycerides, fasting glucose, ALT, and neutrophils, and lower with HDL‑C, apoA‑I, and lymphocytes.
- LL‑37’s association with these risk factors stays significant even after adjusting for body size measures (BMI, waist circumference).
Practical Outcomes
- For biohackers, LL‑37 could serve as a potential blood‑based biomarker to flag early cardiovascular risk, but there’s no current way to safely boost or suppress it. Until functional studies emerge, focus on proven lifestyle factors (diet, exercise, weight control) that impact the same risk markers.
Summary
The study found that higher levels of the immune peptide LL‑37 in blood cells are linked to several heart‑risk factors like higher blood pressure, bad cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar, especially in men, and to weight‑related measures in women. This suggests LL‑37 might be a marker of cardiovascular risk, but the research doesn’t tell us how to change LL‑37 levels or use it in a treatment plan yet.
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are components of the innate immune system. In addition, evidence suggests that these peptides are associated with various inflammatory diseases. We examined whether expression of the cathelicidin LL-37 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) is associated with cardiovascular risk factors. A total of 90 men and 87 women selected from STANISLAS cohort were studied. Expression of LL-37 mRNA isolated from PBMCs of these subjects was quantified by quantitative RT-PCR. Anthropometric measurements and biochemical profiles were assessed for each individual. In women, LL-37 mRNA expression was significantly and positively correlated with body mass index (BMI) (p<or=0.001); waist circumference (WC) (p<or=0.01); systolic blood pressure (SBP) (p<or=0.05) and triglycerides (TG) level (p<or=0.05) and negatively with plasma levels of HDL-C (p<or=0.05). In men however, LL-37 was positively associated with waist to hip ratio (WHR) (p<or=0.05); SBP (p<or=0.001); TG (p<or=0.05); fasting glucose levels (p<or=0.01); alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity (p<or=0.01); neutrophils counts (p<or=0.01) and negatively with lymphocyte counts (p<or=0.001); serum HDL-C (p<or=0.001) and apoA-I (p<or=0.05) levels. After adjustment for WC and BMI, multiple regression analysis showed that LL-37 remained significantly associated with SBP; HDL-C; fasting glucose level; ALT activity; neutrophil and lymphocyte counts (p<or=0.001 to p<or=0.05) in men. Our results suggest that LL-37 gene expression may be closely associated with cardiovascular risk factors independently of BMI and WC. However, functional studies are required to confirm these data.
Study Information
pubmed
2009
2009-04-05T00:00:00.000Z
10.1016/j.numecd.2009.01.001
39
41