Serum brain‐derived neurotrophic factor in coronary heart disease: Correlation with the T helper (Th)1/Th2 ratio, Th17/regulatory T (Treg) ratio, and major adverse cardiovascular events

Abstract

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) exerts protective roles against dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis, and inflammation in cardiovascular diseases; meanwhile, it retards CD4+ T cell differentiation into T helper (Th)1 and Th17 cells. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the linkage of serum BDNF with Th1/Th2 ratio, Th17/regulatory T (Treg) ratio, and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) risk in the coronary heart disease (CHD) patients. This prospective study detected serum BDNF in 210 CHD patients, 50 disease controls (DCs), and 50 healthy controls (HCs) using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. For CHD patients only, the proportion of Th1, Th2, Th17, and Treg cells in blood CD4+ T cells was calculated by flow cytometry. The BDNF varied among CHD patients, DC, and HC (p < 0.001). Specifically, BDNF was declined in CHD patients compared with DCs (p < 0.001) and HCs (p < 0.001). In CHD patients, BDNF was negatively related to Th1 cells (p=0.031), Th1/Th2 ratio (p=0.026), Th17 cells (p=0.001), and Th17/Treg ratio (p=0.002). Concerning the prognosis, BDNF was reduced in patients with MACE occurrence compared to patients without MACE occurrence (p=0.006). Furthermore, BDNF showed a trend (lacked statistical significance) to relate to longer MACE-free survival (p=0.059). Besides, BDNF was related to the absence of obesity (p=0.019), decreased total cholesterol (p=0.043), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p=0.019), C-reactive protein (p=0.012), and Gensini score (p=0.005). Serum BDNF negatively correlates with Th1/Th2 ratio, Th17/Treg ratio, and estimates lower MACE risk in CHD patients.