The Roles Of C-reactive Protein And Interleukin-6 In Themechanism Of Acute Atrial Fibrillation

Backgroud:Atrial fibrillation(Af)is the most common arrthymia in daily clinical practice. Inflamation is recently coming into focus as an important factor of Af.The hypothesis that inflammation is involved in the electrophysiology and structure remodeling has been proposed. Marked inflammatory infiltration,myocyte necrosis and fibrosis have been demonstrated in the atrial biopsies of patients with lone Af.Af may be persistent due to structure remodeling in the atria which are promoted by inflammation.Investigation of the interaction between inflammation and Af is crucial for the clinical prevention and treatment of Af,also for the development of new drugs.C -reactive protein and interleukin-6,as the sensitive marker of inflammatory reaction, could predict cardiovascular events and stoke,could reflect the inflammatory effects on Af.Objective:To study the relationships between inflammatory marker C -reactive protein,interleukin-6 and atrial fibrillation.Methods:1.The rabbit models of atrial fibrillation was established by rapid pacing of the upper right atrium,Blood samples were collected by jugular vein at 1h,2h,4h,6h after atrial fibrillation.Serum CRP level was examined by ELSA assay in three groups.Radio Immunoassay method was used to measure the serum IL-6 level.2.Tissue slice for light microscope were made to observe the structure of left atriumResults:1.Light microscope shows early stage of inflammation in tissue slice taken from left atrium In the group of atrial fibrillation.2.In the group of atrial fibrillation,serum IL-6 levels of 2h,4h,6h were(81.67±10.68) pg/ml,(100.65±7.75)pg/ml and(110.78±4.50)pg/ml,respectively,significantly higher than that of the control group(55.37±12.6)pg/ml,F=50.152,P=0.000.serum IL-6 levels of 1h were (65.069±11.62)pg/ml no significant difference than that of the control group.In the group of atrial fibrillation,serum CRP levels of 2h,4h,6h were(2.78±0.37)mg/L,(4.75±0.17) mg/Land(5.12±0.15)mg/L,respectively,significantly higher than that of the control group(1.246±0.213)mg/L,F=536.965,P=0.000.serum CRP levels of 1h were(1.218±0.185) mg/Lno significant difference than that of the control group.Compared with control group,serum CRP and IL-6 level evaluated during 2 to 6 hours after the onset of atrial fibrillation(p＜0.05),and no significant difference was observed in others(p＞0.05).Conclusion:Light microscope shows early stage of inflammation in tissue slice taken from left atrium In the group of atrial fibrillation.The inflammatory state,reflected by elevation of serum CRP and IL-6 level with lasting of atrial fibrillation,may participate in the occurrence and persistence of atrial fibrillation.