Relationship between white blood cell count and circulating anti-endothelial cell antibodies detected in patients with peripheral arterial disease

ABSTRACTBackground and objectives: Circulating anti-endothelial cell antibodies (AECAs) are elevated in peripheral arterial disease (PAD) patients. In this context, these autoantibodies have been associated with the endothelial dysfunction and the pro-inflammatory status that surrounds atherosclerosis. On the other hand, white blood cell (WBC) count and inflammatory markers have been consistently associated with cardiovascular events and PAD. Our aim is to investigate the relationship between circulating AECAs and WBC count in patients with PAD.Methods: An observational translational study was conducted including 34 male patients with intermittent claudication and no previous autoimmune disease. WBC count was measured in all patients. Highly sensitive C-reactive protein levels (hsCRP) were investigated as a surrogate of inflammation. Circulating AECAs titer was detected using indirect immunofluorescence.Results: We found higher hsCRP levels in patients with circulating AECAs (7.60 [4.25-10.20] vs. 4.90 [3.20-7.00] mg/L p=0.02). We also observed a higher monocyte count (0.72 [0.60-1.01] vs. 0.55 [0.45-0.79] X103/μL p=0.03) and eosinophil count (0.28 [0.22-0.36] vs. 0.25 [0.07-0.29] X103/μL p=0.05) in patients with these autoantibodiesConclusions: Circulating AECAs of PAD patients could be associated with the systemic inflammatory status that surrounds the disease and with high monocyte and eosinophil blood cell count.