van Herpen-Broekmans Wendy M R, Klöpping-Ketelaars Ineke A A, Bots Michiel L, Kluft Cornelis, Princen Hans, Hendriks Henk F J, Tijburg Lilian B M, van Poppel Geert, Kardinaal Alwine F M
TNO Nutrition and Food Research, Zeist, The Netherlands.
Eur J Epidemiol. 2004;19(10):915-21. doi: 10.1007/s10654-004-5760-z.
Endothelial cell dysfunction may be related to an increase in cellular oxidative stress. Carotenoids and vitamins could have an antioxidant-mediated tempering influence on endothelial function and inflammation, thereby reducing the risk of atherosclerosis.
We measured serum carotenoids, alpha-tocopherol and Vitamin C concentrations in 379 subjects sampled from the general population. High-sensitive C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen (Fbg) and leukocytes were measured as markers of inflammation. Furthermore, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD; n= 165) were measured as markers of endothelial function. Relationships between serum carotenoids and vitamins and markers of endothelial function and inflammation were analysed after adjustment for confounding.
In the total study group, lutein and lycopene were inversely related to sICAM-1 with regression-coefficients of -0.38+/-0.19 (p = 0.04) and -0.16+/-0.08 (p = 0.04) per 1 micromol/l, respectively. beta-Carotene was inverse related to leukocytes (-0.23+/-0.07; p = 0.007) and CRP (-1.09+/-0.30; p = 0.0003) per 1 micromol/l. Vitamin C was inverse related to CRP (-0.01+/-0.005; p = 0.04) per 1 micromol/l, whereas alpha-tocopherol was positively related to CRP (0.03+/-0.01; p = 0.02) per 1 micro/l. Zeaxanthin was inversely related to FMD (31.2+/-15.3; p = 0.04) per 1 micromol/l.
The inverse relations between carotenoids, Vitamin C and sICAM-1, CRP and leukocytes may help to explain the possible protective effect of carotenoids and Vitamin C on atherosclerosis through an influence on inflammatory processes and endothelial function.
内皮细胞功能障碍可能与细胞氧化应激增加有关。类胡萝卜素和维生素可能通过抗氧化作用对内皮功能和炎症产生调节影响，从而降低动脉粥样硬化风险。
我们测定了从普通人群中抽取的379名受试者的血清类胡萝卜素、α-生育酚和维生素C浓度。测定高敏C反应蛋白（CRP）、纤维蛋白原（Fbg）和白细胞作为炎症标志物。此外，测定可溶性细胞间黏附分子-1（sICAM-1）和血流介导的血管舒张功能（FMD；n = 165）作为内皮功能标志物。在对混杂因素进行校正后，分析血清类胡萝卜素、维生素与内皮功能及炎症标志物之间的关系。
在整个研究组中，叶黄素和番茄红素与sICAM-1呈负相关，每1微摩尔/升的回归系数分别为-0.38±0.19（p = 0.04）和-0.16±0.08（p = 0.04）。每1微摩尔/升的β-胡萝卜素与白细胞（-0.23±0.07；p = 0.007）和CRP（-1.09±0.30；p = 0.0003）呈负相关。每1微摩尔/升的维生素C与CRP（-0.01±0.005；p = 0.04）呈负相关，而每1微升的α-生育酚与CRP呈正相关（0.03±0.01；p = 0.02）。每1微摩尔/升的玉米黄质与FMD呈负相关（31.2±15.3；p = 0.04）。
类胡萝卜素、维生素C与sICAM-1、CRP和白细胞之间的负相关关系可能有助于解释类胡萝卜素和维生素C通过影响炎症过程和内皮功能对动脉粥样硬化可能具有的保护作用。
