%0 Journal Article
%T Interleukin-15 and Soluble Interleukin-15 Receptor ¦Á in Coronary Artery Disease Patients: Association with Epicardial Fat and Indices of Adipose Tissue Distribution
%A Elena Dozio
%A Alexis Elias Malavazos
%A Elena Vianello
%A Silvia Briganti
%A Giada Dogliotti
%A Francesco Bandera
%A Francesca Giacomazzi
%A Serenella Castelvecchio
%A Lorenzo Menicanti
%A Alexander Sigr¨¹ener
%A Gerd Schmitz
%A Massimiliano Marco Corsi Romanelli
%J PLOS ONE
%D 2014
%I Public Library of Science (PLoS)
%R 10.1371/journal.pone.0090960
%X Interleukin-15 (IL-15) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine which signals via a specific alpha receptor subunit (IL-15R¦Á). Increased IL-15 level has been observed in cardiovascular patients and IL-15 immunoreactivity has been detected at vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques. Due to the association between adipose tissue distribution, inflammation and coronary artery disease (CAD), we quantified IL-15 and IL-15R¦Á in CAD patients with different adiposity and adipose tissue distribution and we evaluated whether epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), a visceral fat depot surrounding and infiltrating myocardium, may be a source of both molecules. IL-15 and IL-15R¦Á proteins were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Gene expression of IL-15 and IL-15R¦Á in EAT depots was evaluated by one colour microarray platform. EAT thickness was measured by echocardiography. Plasmatic IL-15 and IL-15R¦Á levels were higher in CAD than non-CAD patients. After classification according to adipose tissue distribution, IL-15 was higher in CAD patients with increased abdominal adiposity. Increased level of IL-15R¦Á was observed both in CAD and non-CAD patients with increased abdominal fat. EAT was a source of IL-15 and IL-15R¦Á and their expression was higher in CAD patients with increased EAT thickness. In conclusion, our data suggest that circulating levels of IL-15 and IL-15R¦Á seem to reflect visceral distribution of adipose tissue and that EAT may be a potential source of both IL-15 and IL-15R¦Á. Future studies on the relationship between IL-15, visceral fat and characteristics of atherosclerotic plaques could help to better understand the complex biology of this cytokine.
%U http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0090960