Purpose: To determine, in vitro, the susceptibility to apoptosis of lymphocytes from patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in the presence of a low culture medium serum concentration, and to evaluate the correlation of the degree of apoptosis and the serum lipid levels.
Methods: Lymphocytes were isolated from the venous blood of PAD patients with lower limb ischemia secondary to obliterative atherosclerosis of Fountain stage IIb. None of the patients had received hypo-lipemic therapy. The lymphocytes were incubated for 48 hr in media containing reduced concentrations of fetal calf serum. The study group consisted of 10 patients (7 men and 3 women), with a mean age of 67.0 +/- 4.0 yr. The control group consisted of ten healthy volunteers, of the same mean age and sex proportion as the study group.
Results: The percentage of non-apoptotic lymphocytes was lower (by 17%) and the percentage of late apoptotic lymphocytes was higher (by 33%) in the PAD patients than in the healthy donors when comparing the slopes of regression lines describing the relation between frequency of apoptotic lymphocytes in culture media containing reduced concentration of fetal calf serum The percentage of late apoptotic lymphocytes was correlated with the levels of total cholesterol (rs=0.93; P < 0.01) and LDL cholesterol (rs=0.80; P < 0.01) , and negatively correlated with the level of triglycerides (rs=-0.71; P < 0.05).
Conclusion: The results of this study of lymphocyte apoptosis are important in understanding of the disease pathogenesis and should be taken into account in elaboration of treatment strategies.