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Absence of inflammatory conditions in human varicose saphenous veins

  • Original Research Paper
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Abstract

Introduction

Varicose veins affect one-third of the adult population in western countries, but their pathogenesis is incompletely characterized. One of the most controversial issues is the role of inflammation. It is well known that inflammation involves an increased expression/activity of inflammatory mediators.

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence or absence of mediators of inflammation in varicose as compared to healthy veins.

Methods and results

Using immunohistofluorescence on varicose and healthy veins, we investigated the presence of inflammatory cells. They were not detectable. Venous wall C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen (EIA) and pentraxin-3 (Western blot) content were measured. CRP was significantly lower in varicose veins, but no difference was found for fibrinogen or pentraxin-3 between varicose and healthy veins. No difference was observed for enzymes involved in inflammation and responsible for arachidonic acid metabolism such as the acute phase reactant secreted phospholipase A2-IIA and cyclooxygenase-2, as determined in varicose and healthy veins by Western blot and real-time qRT-PCR.

Conclusions

Our experiments demonstrate no increase in the presence of mediators of inflammation in varicose as compared to healthy veins, suggesting that inflammation may not be an important contributor to the pathogenesis of varicose veins.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Alberto Mantovani (Istituto Clinico Humanitas; Milan, Italy) for giving us the PTX-3 antibody, Dr Nadir Cheurfa (Inserm U698; Paris, France) and Tariya Zaoui (CHU X. Bichat; Paris, France) for their help for facilitating access to vascular preparations. This work was supported by National Institute for Health and Medical Research.

Conflict of interest

None declared.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INSERM U698, CHU X. Bichat, 46 rue Huchard, 75018, Paris, France

    Ingrid Gomez, Chabha Benyahia, Julien Le Dall, Liliane Louedec, Dan Longrois & Xavier Norel

  2. Univ. Paris Nord, UMR-S698, 75018, Paris, France

    Ingrid Gomez & Chabha Benyahia

  3. Institut de Pharmacologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS Nice-Sophia-Antipolis, 06560, Valbonne, France

    Christine Payré & Gérard Lambeau

  4. CHU X. Bichat, Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Univ. Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris-Cité, UMR-S698, 75018, Paris, France

    Dan Longrois

  5. CHU X. Bichat, Department of Vascular and Thoracic Surgery, Univ. Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris-Cité, UMR-S698, 75018, Paris, France

    Guy Leséche

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  1. Ingrid Gomez
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  2. Chabha Benyahia
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Correspondence to Xavier Norel.

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Responsible Editor: Artur Bauhofer.

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Gomez, I., Benyahia, C., Le Dall, J. et al. Absence of inflammatory conditions in human varicose saphenous veins. Inflamm. Res. 62, 299–308 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00011-012-0578-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00011-012-0578-8

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