LAUSR

The role of NK-cells and NKT-cells and their subtypes at various stages of the development of atherosclerosis is poorly understood. It was previously shown that CD3+CD56+CD8+ cells can secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines and an increase in their number has been established in patients with active Behçet's Disease and Multiple Sclerosis. To study the relationship between the number of activated CD3+CD56+CD8+ cells and the echogenicity of plaques in patients with carotid atherosclerosis. The study included 40 patients, 21 (52.5%) men and 19 (47.5%) women who underwent carotid ultrasound and immunological studies. The median age was 53.5 (46.7; 57.0) years. All patients underwent duplex ultrasound scanning of the carotid arteries. If an atherosclerotic plaque was detected, its image was saved and exported to Adobe Photoshop CS6® followed by analysis of the gray-scale median (GSM) of the plaque. Hypoechoic was considered a carotid plaque whose GSM values were less than 50. The number of CD3+CD56+CD8+CD11b+ cells was evaluated by flow cytometry using a flow cytometer. Among the examined patients, carotid plaques were detected in 31 (77.5%) participants. The average values of GSM visualized plaques were 58.0 (46.0; 71.5). Atherosclerotic plaques with GSM <50 were detected in 11 (35.5%) patients. In patients with hypoechoic carotid plaques, the number of CD3+CD56+CD8+CD11b+ cells was statistically significantly higher – 352 (55.0; 505) cells/uL versus 66.0 (15.5; 138) cells/uL in patients with plaques whose GSM values were more than 50 (p=0.020). Based on the results of correlation analysis it was established inverse relationship between number of CD3+CD56+CD8+CD11b+ cells and GSM of plaques (r=−0.427; p=0.016). According to the results of the ROC-analysis, an increase in the number of activated NKT-CD8+ cells over 46.5 cells/uL was a predictor of the presence of hypoechogenic carotid plaques with a sensitivity of 81.8% and a specificity of 45.0% (see Figure 1). In patients with hypoechoic carotid plaques, the number of CD3+CD56+CD8+CD11b+ cells was significantly higher in comparison with other patients. An increase in the number of activated NKT-CD8+ cells over 46.5 cells/uL was a predictor of the presence of hypoechoic carotid plaques with sensitivity of 81.8% and specificity of 45.0% Figure 1 Type of funding source: None