Functional Role of Dendritic Cells in Patients with Unstable Angina

Summary： To investigate the function of dendritic cells （DC） in patients with unstable angina, 10 mL of blood was drawn from 30 subjects. 15 patients diagnosed as having unstable angina and 15 healthy subjects were included in an observation and a control groups respectively. The mononuclear cells were separated from the peripheral blood and cultured in RPMI1640 supplemented with recombinant human granulocyte/macrophage-colony stimulating factor （rh GM-CSF） and recombinant human interleukin-4 （rh IL-4） to induce dendritic cells. The shape and ultrastructure of DC was examined with electronic microscope. The phenotype of DC was analyzed with FACS and the alloantigen presenting capacity of DC was evaluated by mixed lymphocyte reaction （MLR）. The expression tale of CD86 of DC in patients with unstable angina was （40. 7±3. 6）%, which was obviously higher than thai of normalDC （29.6±2.5 %） （P〈0.001）. The capacity of the DCs in unstable angina patients to induce allogenic T cells （OD 2.73±1. 10）, was significantly higher than that of the normal DC （OD：0.9±0.21） （P〈0.005）. It is suggested thai the function of DC in patients with unstable angina is increased, which may play an important role in the initiation of immune reaction in the plaque.

Association between the Consumption of Carbonated Beverages and Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests of Cardiac Origin in Japan

Background: The consumption of carbonated beverages has been shown to increase the risk of developing metabolic syndrome. The associations between the consumption of carbonated beverages and left arterial dimension or left ventricular mass are believed to be likely related to the greater body weight of carbonated beverage drinkers relative to non-drinkers. Nonetheless, little is known about the association between the consumption of carbonated beverages and out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) in Japan. Methods: We compared the age-adjusted incidence of OHCAs to the expenditures on various beverages per person between 2005 and 2011 in the 47 prefectures of Japan. Patients who suffered from OHCAs of cardiac and non-cardiac origin were enrolled in All-Japan Utstein Registry of the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. The expenditures on various beverages per person in the 47 prefectures in Japan were obtained from data published by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan. Results: There were 797,422 cases of OHCA in the All-Japan Utstein registry between 2005 and 2011, including 11,831 cases who did not receive resuscitation. Among these 785,591 cases of OHCA, 435,064 (55.4%) were classified as cardiac origin and 350,527 (44.6%) were non-cardiac origin. Non-cardiac origin included cerebrovascular disease, respiratory disease, malignant tumor, and exogenous disease (4.8%, 6.1%, 3.5%, and 18.9%, respectively). The expenditures on carbonated beverages were significantly associated with OHCAs of cardiac origin (r = 0.30, p = 0.04), but not non-cardiac origin (r = -0.03, p = 0.8). Expenditures on other beverages, including green tea, tea, coffee, cocoa, fruit or vegetable juice, fermented milk beverage, milk beverage, and mineral water, were not significantly associated with OHCAs of cardiac origin. Conclusion: Carbonated beverage consumption was significantly and positively associated with OHCAs of cardiac origin in Japan, indicating that beverage habits might play a role in OHCAs of cardiac origin.