Abstract
Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a multi-functional cytokine, which is involved in the pathophysiological processes of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Previously, we demonstrated that TRAIL stimulated lipid uptake and foam cell formation in macrophages in vitro. Several clinical studies have suggested that the serum concentration of TRAIL may be increased in humans with elevated blood cholesterol; however, the current data appear to be inconclusive in this regard. In the present study, we examined the relationships between the serum TRAIL concentration and cholesterol levels in 352 generally healthy subjects undergoing the routine annual health check. We showed that there were significant correlations between TRAIL concentration and levels of total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterols. The level of TRAIL was significantly elevated in subjects with hypercholesterolemia, although this relationship might be also associated with changes of other metabolic factors. Moreover, we showed that the level of blood cholesterol was significantly higher in subjects in the upper quartile of serum TRAIL. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that the serum TRAIL concentration is elevated in people with hypercholesterolemia.
Highlights
Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a multi-functional cytokine, which has potent anti-tumor actions, likely via inducing cell apoptosis [1,2,3]
The level of soluble form of TRAIL (sTRAIL) was significantly elevated in people whose TC and/or low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were above the normal values
This kind of relationship between sTRAIL and hypercholesterolemia retains in subgroups of subjects with different age, gender and the status of adiposity
Summary
Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a multi-functional cytokine, which has potent anti-tumor actions, likely via inducing cell apoptosis [1,2,3]. TRAIL is involved in modulating pathophysiological processes of cardiovascular, metabolic and autoimmune diseases [4,5,6]. TRAIL is expressed as a transmembrane protein, which can be further cleaved by cysteine proteinases at the cell surface, generating the soluble form of TRAIL (sTRAIL). Soluble TRAIL retains the biological activities of the full length ligand [7]. A major source of sTRAIL in the body is the activated monocytes and neutrophils [2, 8].
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