Association Between Soluble CD40 Ligand and Hypercholesterolemia in Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Aim: Coronary heart disease is one of the most common causes of death around the world. The pathological process of coronary heart disease like atherosclerosis starts in childhood. During this period thrombosis constitutes a high-risk factor. In this study, we investigated the effect of soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L) and clotting activation on children and adolescents with hypercholesterolemia. Materials and Methods: Plasma levels of sCD40L, P-selectin, 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), and prothrombin fragment 1+2 [(F) 1+2] were determined in thirty-five hypercholesterolemic patients (20 girls and 15 boys; age, median: 13 years) and forty healthy normocholesterolemic subjects (28 girls and 12 boys; age, median: 13 years). Results: No significant differences were observed between the patient group and controls in terms of age, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, 8-OHdG, F1+2 (p>0.05). However, there were significant differences between the two groups with respect to total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, very LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, sCD40L and P-selectin (p0.05). Conclusion: We believe that future prospective studies to determine the increase in the level of sCD40L with a larger sample size of a pediatric population with dyslipidemias may be more helpful in predicting the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Keywords

• Hypercholesterolemia
• atherosclerosis
• CD40 ligand