Circulating immune complexes correlate with collagen carboxypropeptide in patients with essential hypertension.

Recent evidence indicates that skewed immune responses occur in patients with essential hypertension (EH), which may be involved in the development of EH. This study aimed to evaluate the plasma levels of immune complexes (IC), procollagen type I collagen carboxypropeptide (TICP), and von Willebrand factor (vWF) in EH patients. A total of 121 patients with EH were enrolled in this study (EH group). Thirty healthy volunteers were recruited to serve as the control group. The plasma levels of circulating IC (CIC), vWF and procollagen TICP were measured. Multiple linear regression assays were performed with the data to determine the correlation between EH and these parameters. The results showed that compared with the healthy control group, the plasma levels of CIC, vWF and TICP in the EH group were significantly higher than that in healthy control group, which was positively correlated with EH. The levels of CIC were also positively correlated with vWF and TICP in plasma. The results suggest that skewed immune responses exist in patients with EH.