Impact of high serum Immunoglobulin E levels on the risk of atherosclerosis in humans.

Background: Epidemiological studies show that immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels were higher in subjects with acute coronary events. However, it is unknown if the increased IgE level is a marker of future coronary incidents and whether it may be regarded as a risk factor of an ischemic heart disease. Objective: Our aim was to investigate the relationship between IgE levels and some atherosclerotic markers in patients without known atherosclerotic disease. Methods: Fifty patients (mean age, 40.96 +/- 10.8 years) with high serum IgE levels due to various conditions who did not display evidence of an atherosclerotic disease and 30 healthy control subjects (mean age, 47 +/- 8.27 years) were included in the study. Atherosclerotic disease markers including adhesion molecules like vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6, endothelin-1, and systemic inflammatory markers such as high sensitivity C-reactive protein were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Endothelial functions of the coronary arteries were determined by coronary flow reserve (CFR) measurements and carotid intima media thickness using transthoracic Doppler echocardiography. Results: CFR was significantly lower in the patient group when compared with the control group (p<0.001; 95% confidence interval, -0.79 to -0.20) while carotid media thicknesses were not different between 2 groups. There were no differences in ELISA test results between the 2 groups. Conclusion: Our results showed that CFR as an early marker of endothelial dysfunction was significantly lower in patients with high IgE levels. This finding seems to support the role of IgE in the vascular pathology of atherosclerosis.