Role of immune system in development and progress of combined arterial hypertension and gout

Abstract

Introduction: Multiple data available indicate high prevalence of comorbid abnormalities in gouty arthritis patients, namely, high incidence of arterial hypertension, coronary artery disease, stroke, atherosclerosis of carotid arteries, vascular dementia. For instance, hypertension is found in 36-41% gout patients, and combined with metabolic syndrome it may reach 80%. The aim: Studying features of clinical course, lipid profile and immune status in patients with combined hypertension and gout. Materials and methods: The study involved examination of 137 male patients with stage II hypertension, average age 56.9±3.4. All patients underwent echocardiography with estimation of the left ventricular mass index to verify hypertension stage, blood chemistry test with estimation of uric acid level, as well as lipid profile and immune status. Results: We have found significant disorders in the lipid profile of blood serum in patients with combined hypertension and gout. Positively higher percentage of activated T-cells was found in patients with combined hypertension and gout, both with early (CD3+CD25+) and late (CD3+HLA-DR+) activation marker, as well as those expressing FAS receptor, and ready to enter into apoptosis. Conclusion: We have identified abnormalities in adhesion and cooperation of immune competent cells, resulting in more intense activation of the same, effector functions and migration to the area of inflammation in the vessel wall.