Primate Monocytes - CD14, CD16 - Ziegler-Heitbrock

Non-classical and intermediate monocytes in patients following venous thromboembolism: Links with inflammation.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Monocyte subsets are involved in atherosclerotic vascular disease and its thromboembolic complications. Moreover, the role of monocytes has been suggested in the pathogenesis of venous thromboembolism (VTE). OBJECTIVES: We hypothesized that pro-inflammatory non-classical and intermediate monocytes are increased in the first months following VTE. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We enrolled 70 patients aged 18-65 years (mean age 41.6 +-11.6) with the firstever provoked (n = 32; 45.7%) or unprovoked (n = 38; 54.28%) VTE episode, and 46 healthy controls. The exclusion criteria were: acute infection, cancer, autoimmune disorders, previous myocardial infarction (MI), or stroke. Monocyte subsets were assessed 12 (8.5-21.5) months after VTE using flow cytometry and were defined as classical (CD14++CD16-), intermediate (CD14++CD16+) and non-classical (CD14+CD16++). RESULTS: Patients with VTE had higher intermediate and non-classical monocyte counts compared to the control group (16.8 +-9.3 vs 10.4 +-4.0 cells/muL, and 64.1 +-25.2 vs 44.1 +-19.2 cells/muL, respectively, both p < 0.001). Increased non-classical monocyte counts were observed in patients who experienced a VTE incident within 12 months prior to enrollment (71.5 +-27.4 vs 56.03 +-20.6 cells/muL; p = 0.01) and those with unprovoked VTE (70.2 +-4.1 vs 58.8 +-4.3 cells/muL; p = 0.06). There were no differences in monocyte subsets related to the current anticoagulation. CONCLUSIONS: Our data has shown for the first time that VTE is associated with an increased number of nonclassical and intermediate monocytes, which may indicate the involvement of monocyte-related mechanisms in the pathophysiology of this disease.