Increased levels of CD40–CD40 ligand system in patients with essential hypertension

Abstract Background Although it has been hypothesized that hypertension is in part an inflammatory disorder, clinical data linking inflammation with incident hypertension are scarce. There is evidence that have shown that CD40–CD40L interaction plays a pathogenic role in inflammatory disorders. We assessed whether CD40 system expressions were altered in patients including 30 with hypertension grade 1, 80 with hypertension grade 2 and 40 with hypertension grade 3. Methods Twenty normal controls and 150 patients with essential hypertension were investigated. The expression of CD40 and CD40L on platelet was analyzed by indirect-immonofluorescence flow cytometry and soluble CD40L level was determined by a commercially available ELISA. C-reactive protein was also measured by ELISA. Results All patients with hypertension showed a significant increase of CD40 (67.1±9.6 Mean Fluorescence Intensity, MFI) and CD40L (15.3±5.0 MFI) coexpression on platelets as well as sCD40L levels (12.8±3.9 ng/ml ) compared with controls ( p 15 ng/ml) indicated a tough control of blood pressure. Conclusion Patients with essential hypertension show increased coexpression of CD40 system, which suggests that hypertension is in part an inflammatory disorder.