Racial Differences in Oxidative Stress and Inflammation: In Vitro and In Vivo

Abstract

African American race is an independent risk factor for enhanced oxidative stress and inflammation. We sought to examine whether oxidative‐stress and inflammatory markers that are typically measured in humans also differ by race in cell culture. We compared levels between African American and Caucasian young adults and then separately in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) from both races. We found heightened oxidative stress and inflammation in the African Americans both in vitro and in vivo. African American HUVECs showed higher nitric oxide (NO) levels (10.8 ± 0.4 vs. 8.8 ± 0.7 μmol/L/mg, p = 0.03), Interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) levels (61.7 ± 4.2 vs. 23.9 ± 9.0 pg/mg, p = 0.02), and lower superoxide dismutase activity (15.6 ± 3.3 vs. 25.4 ± 2.8 U/mg, p = 0.04), and also higher protein expression (p < 0.05) of NADPH oxidase subunit p47phox, isoforms NOX2 and NOX4, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS), inducible NOS, as well as IL‐6. African American adults had higher plasma protein carbonyls (1.1 ± 0.1 vs. 0.8 ± 0.1 nmol/mg, p = 0.01) and antioxidant capacity (2.3 ± 0.2 vs. 1.1 ± 0.3 mM, p = 0.01). These preliminary translational data demonstrate a racial difference in HUVECs much like that in humans, but should be interpreted with caution given its preliminary nature. It is known that racial differences exist in how humans respond to development and progression of disease, therefore these data suggest that ethnicity of cell model may be important to consider with in vitro clinical research. Clin Trans Sci 2011; Volume 4: 32–37

Mediterranean diet and leukocyte telomere length in a multi-ethnic elderly population

“…It has been shown that the underlying inflammation or oxidative status might differ among different ethnic groups. A previous study found heightened oxidative stress and inflammation in African Americans both in vitro and in vivo (Feairheller et al 2011). Population-based studies also found that compared to whites, African Americans or Hispanics had higher levels of markers of oxidative stress (Morris et al 2012), lower concentrations of antioxidant alpha-tocopherol (Ford et al 2006), or higher levels of inflammatory markers such as CRP and IL-6 (Kelley-Hedgepeth et al 2008;Paalani et al 2011).…”

Reactive Oxygen Species, Vascular Noxs, and Hypertension: Focus on Translational and Clinical Research

“…Normotensive subjects with a family history of hypertension have greater ROS production than blood pressurematched subjects without a family history of hypertension, suggesting a genetic component that is associated with elevated production of free radicals (57,105,108). Racial differences in oxidative stress and inflammation have also been demonstrated.…”

Effect of Interleukin-10 and Laminar Shear Stress on Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase and Nitric Oxide in African American Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

“…[7][8][9][10] It has been well-documented in the literature that oxidative stress and inflammation often occur simultaneously and have been linked to endothelial dysfunction and hypertension. [29][30][31] Elucidating the mechanisms relating to inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and hypertension may be beneficial in developing preventive measures in reducing the CVD risk burden among the African American population.…”

“…5,6 The high incidence of hypertension in African Americans may be attributed to their predisposition to heightened systemic inflammation. [7][8][9][10] Long-term exposure of the endothelium to proinflammatory cytokines leads to endothelial dysfunction, which supports an environment favoring hypertension. 11,12 It is hypothesized that the intravascular balance between pro-and anti-inflammation plays a crucial role as a determinant of endothelial health.…”