Transforming factor-bl and markers of leukocytic activation in hypertensive disease

The study was undertaken to determine the serum concentration of an active form of transforming growth factor-bl (TGF-bl) and the functional status of leukocytes in patients with Stage II hypertensive disease (HD) and to assess the pathogenetic value and capacities of correction of detected changes with the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor quinapril. Materials and methods. Thirty patients with Stage II HD and 17 apparently healthy individuals were examined. The data of ultrasound studyofthe heart, radial and carotid arteries, the functional activity of leukocytes and the concentration of (TGF-bl) in the serum were assessed. Of them, 15 patients with HD were reexamined during treatment with quinapril (accupro, Pfizer, USA) in a daily dose of 10-40 mg for 12 weeks. Results. The study established an increase in the elevated serum levels of TGF-bl of hypertensive patients with HD and its association with the mass of the left ventricular myocardium, with the thickness of an intima-media complex of the common carotid arteries, and with endothelial dysfunction. A relationship is shown between the concentration of TGF-bl and the functional activity of leukocytes: elevated peripheral leukocytes, the adhesive capacity of neutrophils, the lymphocytic expression of the antiapoptic protein Bcl-2 and Fas-receptors. With quinapril treatment, a 10-mm Hg or more reduction in 87% of the patients was attended by the lower adhesion of neutrophils to the endothelium, with elevated Bcl-2-negative and Fas-positive lymphocytes. Conclusion. The changes in the serum levels of TGF-bl are associated with lesions of target organs and with the activation of leukocytes in HD. The decrease in leukocytic functional activity during therapy with quinapril did not depend on the antihypertensive effect of the drug.

transforming growth factor-bl, leukocytes, left ventricular hypertrophy, endothelial dysfunction, quinapril

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