Effects of gender and race on interleukin‐6 production in response to CRP in HUVECs

Abstract

BackgroundInterleukin‐6 (IL‐6) is a pro‐inflammatory cytokine that can be excreted by endothelial cells. Elevated C‐reactive protein (CRP) level is a risk factor for the development of endothelial dysfunction that can lead to hypertension. The study was to determine whether race or gender affected the IL‐6 response to CRP in HUVECs.MethodsEight HUVEC lines from African American (AA) and Caucasian (CA) donors with gender split evenly were cultured and incubated with CRP for 24‐hrs. Doses of CRP were 0, 25, 50 and 100 μg/mL. IL‐6 was measured in the media that was collected after the incubation and was normalized to protein concentration (pg/mg).ResultsThe female group had higher IL‐6 production than the male group for each CRP condition and there was a significant difference between genders at the 50 μg/mL CRP condition (P=0.03). Though the IL‐6 production tended to be higher in the AA group under 25, 50, and 100 μg/mL CRP conditions, the differences were not significant. CRP level (μg/mL) IL‐6 production (pg/mg) Female Male 0 66.96 ± 30.88 82.73 ± 28.75 25 144.86 ± 50.15 92.03 ± 40.77 50 177.97 ± 20.73 110.98 ± 25.56 100 179.15 ± 59.41 151.94 ± 103.41 ConclusionIt suggests that females with high CRP levels may have a greater risk of developing endothelial dysfunction due to a greater IL‐6 response. Whether the gender difference is related to differences in CRP receptor function or downstream signaling mechanisms is unknown.