| DERMATOLOGY | PEER-REVIEW


Atherosclerosis The biopsy material collected from patients with atherosclerosis was used for the quantitative analysis of RNA expression changes. The mean age was 61.3 years (Table 3). The group consisted of 10 patients with femoral artery atherosclerosis, atherosclerosis of thyroid gland vessels, and aortic aneurism. Collection of atherosclerosis biopsies were completed during operations on affected vessels and unaffected parts of femoral artery were used as a control sample. After the dissection of the vessel the intima was isolated. The intima was placed in 0.9% NaCl solution. Isolated fragments of the affected vessel were frozen in liquid nitrogen. The time period from the biopsy collection to freezing was no more than 3 minutes.


Results and discussion The analysis of RNA expression in 20 skin samples collected from 10 patients with psoriasis and 20 vessel samples collected from patients with atherosclerosis was undertaken with the aid of real-time PCR. The analysis of data collected from patients with psoriasis showed a significant increase in the gene expression for IL-17 in the unaffected skin biopsies. The maximum increase was detected in patient #7 (173.2 times greater than compared with visually unaffected skin). The average increase was 54.4 times greater (Figure 1). The results were normalized to the GAPDH gene from the unaffected biopsies. In patients with atherosclerosis of


large blood-vessels, biopsy samples were collected from affected and visually unaffected parts of the vessel. Biopsy was performed before the prescription of statins or after a period no less than 3 months after the use of the drug. During the analysis of the expression level for the IL-17 gene, the authors detected significant differences between affected and unaffected biopsies. In the affected part of the vessel, compared with its


visually unaffected part, a significant increase in expression level for IL-17 was detected. The maximum increase level was measured in patient #2 (123 times greater than compared with the unaffected part of the vessel). The average increase was 25 times greater (Figure 2). The increased expression of the IL-


17 gene in affected vessels and psoriatic lesions confirms a major role of the IL-17 family in the initiation and progression


Table 3 Patients with atherosclerosis diagnosis


PATIENT AGE SEX DIAGNOSIS 167


243 366


467 559


673 767 858


962 10 In patients with atherosclerosis of


large blood-vessels, biopsy samples were collected from


affected and visually unaffected parts of the vessel.


M


M Atherosclerosis. Left artery iliaca communis stenosis. Chronic artery insufficiency II


Infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm. Chronic artery insufficiency II. Arterial hypertension I. Non-steroidal gastritis. H.pylori positive


M Extremities artery atherosclerosis. Superficial femoral artery and a.poplitea diffuse aneurysm.


M Atherosclerosis. Left artery iliaca communis stenosis. Chronic artery insufficiency II


M Artery iliaca communis stenosis F Extremities artery atherosclerosis. Leriche syndrome


F Extremities artery atherosclerosis. Superficial femoral artery and a.poplitea diffuse aneurysm


F Atherosclerosis. Chronic artery insufficiency II. Dyslipidemia F Atherosclerosis of cerebral arteries


51 F Extremities artery atherosclerosis


of inflammatory diseases. IL-17 is a pro- inflammatory cytokine owing to its ability to increase the level of different inflammatory mediators (IL-1beta, IL-6, IL- 12, IL-10, TNF-alpha), especially for those that are involved in neutrophils proliferation, maturation, and chemotaxis. Investigators associate the increased level of IL-17 with some chronic inflammatory diseases, such as psoriasis and atherosclerosis10,11


. The IL-17 produced by Th17 cells


act on different cells populations in


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