Serum Amyloid A Activation of Inflammatory and Adhesion Molecules in Human Coronary Artery and Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

Inflammation is considered to be the driving force leading to atherogenic and atherosclerotic mechanisms. Increased levels of SAA predict the risk of coronary artery disease and even mortality from cardiovascular disease in humans. Recent animal and human studies have indicated that SAA plays a causal role in atherogenesis, although it is largely unclear how this occurs. The objectives of this study are to understand the role of SAA in activating possible atherogenic inflammatory responses in human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAEC) and to compare them with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Our hypothesis is that vein and artery endothelial cells have different expression patterns and levels, leading to differential inflammatory responses. HUVEC and HCAEC were grown in order to analyze the effects of SAA on endothelial expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6, chemokines, such as IL-8, and adhesion molecules (s-ICAM, s-VCAM, E-selectin) by reverse transcription-PCR and E...