Expression of PD-L1 on peripheral blood T lymphocytes in patients with coronary heart disease

Objective To investigate the expression of programmed death 1 ligand(PD-L1) on peripheral blood T cells(PBTCs) in patients with coronary heart disease and the role of this expression in genesis and development of atherosclerosis.Methods According to the WHO diagnostic criteria of coronary heart disease:23 patients with stable angina(SA),21 with acute coronary syndrome(ACS),and 18 healthy individuals were included in this study All the patients were hospitalized patients in Zhujiang hospital and confirmed by coronary angiography.The expressions of PD-L1 mRNA and protein on PBTCs were detected by half-quantitative RT-PCR and flow cytometry,respectively.Results The expression levels of PD-L1 on PBTCs were significantly increased in patients with SA and ACS compared with healthy individuals(P0.01),but did not differ significantly between SA and ACS(P0.05).Conclusion The expression of PD-L1 on peripheral blood T cells in patients with coronary heart disease is significantly down-regulated,which may play a role in the pathogenesis and development of atherosclerosis.