Increased leukocyte aggregation in patients with hypercholesterolaemia

Leukocyte aggregation induced by N-formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP) has been measured in a group of patients with hypercholesterolaemia (n = 22) and in a group of control subjects (n = 26), age- and sex-matched. When hypercholesterolaemic patients were divided into two groups, with a discriminatory level of 7.7 mmol/l of plasma cholesterol, FMLP-induced leukocyte aggregation of patients with greater than 7.7 mmol/l of plasma cholesterol was significantly higher compared both with control subjects and patients with plasma cholesterol levels less than 7.7 mmol/l. A positive significant correlation was found between leukocyte aggregation and plasma cholesterol, whereas no correlation was observed between leukocyte aggregation and plasma triglycerides or APO-B levels. These findings provide further support for the hypothesis that elevated plasma cholesterol levels may induce a cellular membrane abnormality responsible for the increased leukocyte aggregation and, subsequently, endothelial damage.