HLA-DRβ1, Circulating Th1/Th2 Cytokines and Immunological Homunculus in Coronary Atherosclerosis

Coronary atherosclerotic disease is one of the most endangering health disorder worldwide. this study was designed to investigate the correlation between hla-drβ1 alleles and circulating th1/th2 type cytokines in coronary atherosclerosis.by elisa, th1/th2 type cytokines were determined in serum samples of 31 subjects with unstable angina, 27 subjects with chronic stable angina and 24 individuals as normal control. by ssp-pcr, more than 100 alleles of hla-drb1 were typed in 24 subjects who had skewed serum levels of th1/th2 type cytokines. lipid profiles were determined by the routine methods of clinical laboratory in all subjects. the mean serum concentration of il-10 in normal control subjects was higher in comparison to the patient groups.0.33±0.59 pg/ml versus 0.064±0.3 pg/ml in unstable angina pectoris group (p<0.028) and 0.22±0.6 pg/ml in chronic stable subjects. there was no statistically significant difference among the groups in serum levels of other desired cytokines (ifn-γ, il-4). 33.33% of normal control subjects were hla-dr16 positive whereas none of the subjects with chronic stable angina or individuals with unstable angina pectoris was positive for this antigen. the mean concentration of serum ldl-cholesterol in normal control group was high 142.046±35.40 (pg/ml).this preliminary study shows that the atherogenic effect of the ldl- cholesterol may be dampened by hdl-cholesterol through anti inflammatory cytokine il-10 and hla-dr16, a phenomenon interpretable via immunological homunculus theory.