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Trace Element Changes in Thoracic Aortic Dissection

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Abstract

Thoracic aortic dissection is a life-threatening condition with an incompletely understood pathogenesis. Trace elements are essential for the functioning of different processes in the body, including the immune system and associated responses to infection/inflammation. Because inflammation may be part of the pathogenesis of thoracic aortic dissection, we investigated whether trace element changes associated with inflammation occur in serum and tissue samples during the disease. The study included 21 patients undergoing surgery for thoracic aortic dissection, 10 forensic autopsy specimens for tissue controls and 23 healthy blood donors for serum controls. Levels of magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), vanadium (V), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), selenium (Se), cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg) were measured in the aortic tissue and serum by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). In the serum, Ca, V, Cu and Zn decreased, whereas Fe increased. In the tissue, Cu and Zn decreased and Fe tended to increase. The Cu/Zn ratio in the serum, a marker of infection/inflammation, did not change in the patients. Concerning trace element changes in the serum and tissue, our data do not support the hypothesis that inflammation is involved in the pathogenesis of thoracic aortic dissection.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from The Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (FORMAS), the Family Olinder-Nielsen’s Foundation and the Uppsala County Association Against Heart and Lung Diseases.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Sciences, Infectious Diseases, Uppsala University, University Hospital, S-751 85, Uppsala, Sweden

    Marie Edvinsson, Nils-Gunnar Ilbäck & Christina Nyström-Rosander

  2. Department of Surgical Sciences, Thoracic Surgery, Uppsala University, 751 85, Uppsala, Sweden

    Stefan Thelin

  3. Research in Metal Biology, Rudbeck Laboratory, Uppsala University, 751 85, Uppsala, Sweden

    Peter Frisk

  4. Risk Benefit Assessment Department, National Food Agency, Box 622, 751 26, Uppsala, Sweden

    Nils-Gunnar Ilbäck

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  1. Marie Edvinsson
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  2. Nils-Gunnar Ilbäck
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  3. Peter Frisk
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  4. Stefan Thelin
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  5. Christina Nyström-Rosander
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Correspondence to Marie Edvinsson.

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Edvinsson, M., Ilbäck, NG., Frisk, P. et al. Trace Element Changes in Thoracic Aortic Dissection. Biol Trace Elem Res 169, 159–163 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-015-0432-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-015-0432-2

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