Pulmonary hypertension (PH) in sickle cell disease (SCD) is an emerging and important clinical problem. In a single-institution adult cohort of 365 patients, we investigated lipid and lipoprotein levels and their relationship to markers of intravascular hemolysis, vascular dysfunction and PH. In agreement with prior studies, we confirm significantly decreased plasma levels of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) in SCD vs. ethnically-matched healthy controls. Several cholesterol parameters correlate significantly with markers of anemia, but not endothelial activation or PH. More importantly, serum triglyceride levels are significantly elevated in SCD compared to controls. Elevated triglyceride levels correlate significantly with markers of hemolysis (lactate dehydrogenase and arginase; both p<0.0005), endothelial activation (soluble E-selectin, p<0.0001; soluble P-selectin, p=0.02; soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, p=0.01), inflammation (leukocyte count, p=0.0004; erythrocyte sedimentation rate, p=0.02) and PH (amino-terminal brain natriuretic peptide, p=0.002; prevalence of elevated tricuspid regurgitant velocity (TRV), p<0.001). In a multivariate analysis, triglyceride levels correlate independently with elevated TRV (p=0.002). Finally, forearm blood flow studies in adult patients with SCD demonstrate a significant association between increased triglyceride/HDL-C ratio and endothelial dysfunction (p<0.05). These results characterize elevated plasma triglyceride levels as a potential risk factor for PH in SCD.

No abstract

No abstract

Vascular dysfunction is an important pathophysiologic manifestation of sickle cell disease (SCD), a condition that increases risk of pulmonary hypertension and stroke. We hypothesized that infrared (IR) imaging would detect changes in cutaneous blood flow reflective of vascular function. We performed IR imaging and conventional strain gauge plethysmography in twenty-five adults with SCD at baseline and during intra-arterial infusions of an endothelium-dependent vasodilator acetylcholine (ACh), an endothelium-independent vasodilator sodium nitroprusside (SNP), and a NOS inhibitor L-NMMA. Skin temperature measured by IR imaging increased in a dose-dependent manner to graded infusions of ACh (+1.1° C, p < 0.0001) and SNP (+0.9° C, p < 0.0001), and correlated with dose-dependent increases in forearm blood flow (ACh: +19.9 mL/min/100mL, p < 0.0001; rs = 0.57, p = 0.003; SNP: +8.6 mL/min/100mL, p < 0.0001; r = 0.70, p = 0.0002). Although IR measurement of skin temperature accurately reflected agonist-induced increases in blood flow, it was less sensitive to decreases in blood flow caused by NOS inhibition. Baseline forearm skin temperature measured by IR imaging correlated significantly with baseline forearm blood flow (31.8±0.2° C, 6.0±0.4 mL/min/100mL; r = 0.58, p = 0.003), and appeared to represent a novel biomarker of vascular function. It predicted a blunted blood flow response to SNP (r = −0.61, p = 0.002), and was independently associated with a marker of pulmonary artery pressure, as well as hemoglobin level, diastolic blood pressure, homocysteine, and cholesterol (R2 = 0.84, p < 0.0001 for the model). IR imaging of agonist-stimulated cutaneous blood flow represents a less cumbersome alternative to plethysmography methodology. Measurement of baseline skin temperature by IR imaging may be a useful new marker of vascular risk in adults with SCD.

β-D and β-L-enantiomers of 2′,3′-dideoxycytidine analogues are potent chain-terminators and antimetabolites for viral and cellular replication. Seemingly small modifications markedly alter their antiviral and toxicity patterns. This review discusses previously published and recently obtained data on the effects of 5- and 2′-fluorine substitution on the pre-steady state incorporation of 2′-deoxycytidine-5′-monophosphate analogues by HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) in light of their biological activity. The addition of fluorine at the 5-position of the pyrimidine ring altered the kinetic parameters for all nucleotides tested. Only the 5-fluorine substitution of the clinically relevant nucleosides (-)-β-L-2′,3′-dideoxy-3′-thia-5-fluoro-cytidine (L-FTC, Emtriva™), and (+)-β-D-2′,3′-dide-hydro-2′,3′-dideoxy-5-fluorocytidine (D-D4FC, Reverset™), caused a higher overall efficiency of nucleotide incorporation during both DNA- and RNA-directed synthesis. Enhanced incorporation by RT may in part explain the potency of these nucleosides against HIV-1. In other cases, a lack of correlation between RT incorporation in enzymatic assays and antiviral activity in cell culture illustrates the importance of other cellular factors in defining antiviral potency. The substitution of fluorine at the 2′ position of the deoxyribose ring negatively affects incorporation by RT indicating the steric gate of RT can detect electrostatic perturbations. Intriguing results pertaining to drug resistance have led to a better understanding of HIV-1 RT resistance mechanisms. These insights serve as a basis for understanding the mechanism of action for nucleoside analogues and, coupled with studies on other key enzymes, may lead to the more effective use of fluorine to enhance the potency and selectivity of antiviral agents.