Subpopulations of lymphocytes and monocytes in blood of patients with atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter associated with hypertension

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation (AF) remains one of the most common arrhythmias, second only to supraventricular extrasystoles, but the universal cause of its occurrence is still unknown. The inflammatory theory of arrhythmogenesis attracts the attention of researchers around the world. The purpose of the study is to compare the subpopulations of lymphocytes and monocytes in blood of patients with paroxysmal and persistent forms of atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter (AFL) that associated with arterial hypertension. Materials and methods. The study involved 103 patients with atrial fibrillation and flutter that occurred secondary to hypertension. Depending on the form of arrhythmia, they were divided into three main groups: group I – with paroxysmal form of atrial fibrillation, group II – with a persistent form of atrial fibrillation, group III – with a persistent form of atrial flutter. The control groups included patients with hypertension, but without these arrhythmias and healthy individuals who entered groups IV and V, respectively. The lymphocytes and monocytes subpopulation was assessed by flow cytometry in peripheral blood. Results and discussion. Analyzing the lymphocyte subpopulations in peripheral blood of patients with atrial fibrillation and flutter (groups I, II and III), it was found that the number of cells with cytotoxic activity (NK and NKT) in both absolute count and percentage values was significantly higher than in healthy individuals. A statistically significant decrease of T-regulatory cells number was found in patients with arrhythmias compared to control groups (p ≤ 0.05). In patients with AF and AFL associated with hypertension, compared to patients with hypertension without these rhythm disturbances or healthy individuals, there is an increased number of classical and intermediate monocytes subpopulations. Conclusions. In patients with atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter that occurred as a result of hypertension, compared to patients without arrhythmias or healthy people, there is an increased content of pro-inflammatory subpopulations of blood monocytes, T-cytotoxic cells and a decrease in the content of T-regulatory cells.