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We demonstrated the association of altered biochemical and hematological factors with hypertension supporting the value of emerging markers for early prediction of high blood pressure in prone individuals.

Inflammation plays a key role in the initiation, progression, and clinical manifestation of atherosclerosis. Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. The aim of the current study was to investigate the serum concentrations of 12 cytokines and growth factors (EGF, INF-γ, IL-1α/-1β/-2/-4/-6/-8/-10, MCP-1, TNF-α, and VEGF) in an Iranian population, including 192 smokers, comparing these values with concentrations in nonsmokers. One hundred and ninety-two cases were enrolled from the Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Of these cases, 82 were cigarette smokers and 110 were nonsmokers. Sex and age were matched for the two groups. The serum concentration of 12 cytokines and growth factors were determined using EV-3513-cytokine-biochip arrays, by competitive chemiluminescence immunoassays. The level of serum MCP-1 was significantly ( p < .001) lower in the female group of cigarette smokers (mean = 88.1 dL/ng), compared with nonsmokers (mean = 155.6 dL/ng). There were no significant differences for the other cytokines and growth factors between the groups. Our finding demonstrate the association of MCP-1 with cigarette smoking, supporting further studies in larger population on evaluating the role of cigarette smoking on pro-/anti-inflammatory cytokines.

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Background: Heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) is found in several cell types of adults, such as cardiomyocytes, and endothelial cells. It is expressed in response to different cellular stress conditions. HSP27 decreases the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and dyslipidemia is closely associated with increased endothelial production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Objective: Higher serum HSP27 antigen and anti-HSP27 antibodies have been reported in patients with unstable angina and myocardial infarction Methods: This population-based case-control study was conducted in 2018. We investigated serum anti-HSP27 antibody titers in all participants with dyslipidemia from the Mashhad stroke and heart atherosclerotic disorder (MASHAD) study (n=8141) and those who were healthy in terms of dyslipidemia (n=1637) using an in-house enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA) in individuals with dyslipidemia. Findings: Anti-HSP27 titers were significantly lower in individuals with dyslipidemia compared to people without dyslipidemia (P=0.036). Conclusion: Our results revealed that the anti-HSP27 antibody titer was lower in the participants with dyslipidemia than in the negative group. However, there may be a confounding effect of drug therapy. In a subgroup of dyslipidemic subjects, we observed lower anti-HSP27 antibody titers in patients treated with some drugs (statins or corticosteroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [NSAIDs], or anti-diabetic and anti-hypertensive) compared to subjects untreated with these drugs.