The anti-endotoxin immunity in healthy people with various baseline concentration of C-reactive protein in the blood

Abstract

A failure of immune mechanisms of intestinal endotoxin neutralization and clearance leads to the development of endotoxic aggression. Such increase can induce proinflammatory background and activate inflammatory processes in the vascular wall leading to atherosclerosis. We examined 52 healthy people who had no history of any chronic disease and, at the time of the survey, had no clinical manifestations of acute infectious diseases. The concentration of C-reactive protein in the blood and the levels of serum anti-endotoxin antibodies of different classes (A, M and G) were determined by ELISA. The endotoxin-binding capacity of monocytes and granulocytes was assessed by flow cytometry (two-color fluorescence test). Using cluster analysis (Ward’s method and k-means clustering), we found that healthy people with elevated baseline concentrations of C-reactive protein in the blood (mean 2,24 ± 0,26 mg/l) significantly reduced levels of serum anti-endotoxin antibodies of different classes and reduced endotoxin-binding capacity of monocytes and granulocytes. Thus, the increasing of the base C-reactive protein concentration in the blood of healthy people is closely associated with poor immune response to intestinal endotoxin.