Depression, aging, and proteins made by a virus may all play role in hea...( the levels of IL-6 in the body increase...)

Date:10/1/2007

, the levels of IL-6 in the body increase in the blood. Some of that IL-6 is created by immune cells called macrophages that rush to the site of an infection or injury. Earlier work by the team also showed that increases in psychological stress and depression can substantially raise the levels of IL-6 and TNF-a in the body.

Increased stress and depression can also trigger the latent virus to reactivate and begin reproducing inside cells

The researchers also knew that as Epstein-Barr virus begins to multiply in cells in the body, it produces a protein called dUTpase that, in turn, can stimulate macrophages to make even more IL-6.

The more IL-6 levels rise in the body, the greater a person's risk is for disease, Glaser said, adding that IL-6 increases, as well as depression, have been associated with cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and type-2 diabetes.

The researchers developed a model to test these linkages by using endothelial cells that line the inside of veins in umbilical cord tissue. They wanted to see how the cells themselves, as well as the immune macrophages, reacted when exposed to the virus as well as the dUTpase protein.

In those experiments, the production of IL-6, as well as TNF-a, were increased just as they would be as part of the inflammatory process in the body. Such chronic incidents of inflammation are integral to the onset of atherosclerosis, Waldman said, as well as other diseases.

Basically, we're seeing all of these factors as playing a significant role in the production of these proinflammatory proteins, he said. We were very surprised to find all these connections. They weren't expected.

This may help us understand just how atherosclerotic disease may occur, or how it is exacerbated by many factors.

The researchers point to one value of their findings:

People need to remember how important depression is, and that when they're depressed, it can react
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Contact: Ronald Glaser Ronald.Glaser@osumc.edu 614-292-5526 Ohio State University Source:Eurekalert

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