BACKGROUND

High levels of the soluble fragment of CD40 ligand (sCD40L) have previously been associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes. CD40L-CD40 interaction has been linked to the pathogenesis of atherothrombotic complications in cardiovascular disease (CVD). We sought to determine whether a "package of care" of intensified multifactorial cardiovascular risk intervention could reduce indices of platelet activation, inflammation, and coagulation in diabetes and whether patients with overt CVD would derive similar benefit compared with those without.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We measured plasma sCD40L, soluble P-selectin (sP-sel, an index of platelet activation), interleukin-6 (IL-6, a proinflammatory cytokine), and tissue factor (TF, an initiator of coagulation) in 97 patients with diabetes mellitus (41 with and 56 without overt CVD) and 39 comparable healthy control subjects. Thirty-six patients with and 32 without overt CVD then participated in a package of care of cardiovascular risk intervention over a period of 1 year. Plasma levels of sCD40L (P<0.001), sP-sel (P<0.001), IL-6 (P=0.001), and TF (P<0.001) were higher in patients with diabetes than in control subjects, with TF levels highest in patients with overt CVD. Multifactorial intervention was associated with significant reductions in sCD40L in both patient groups (both P<0.001), but reductions in sP-sel and TF were seen only in patients without overt CVD. There was no significant change in IL-6 levels in both patient groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Intensive multifactorial risk management can reduce high levels of sCD40L but can only partially correct abnormal platelet activation, inflammation, and coagulation in diabetes, particularly in patients with overt CVD.