摘要：

Objective: To elucidate a proposed role of TACI, a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family member of human B cells, in atherosclerosis. Whereas atherosclerosis has been characterized by inflammation, adaptive immunity, and specifically the role of B cells and their respective cytokine processes have not, and thus we focused on the role of a B cell homeostasis regulator, TACI. We chose TACI because it has been shown, in combination with immunoglobulins, to inhibit cells involved in the innate response, known to be the initial responders to atherosclerosis. Approach and Results: As there are two isoforms of TACI in mice, we needed to first confirm whether human B cells had one or two isoforms, before understanding preferential expression. To this end, we examined peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), multiple myeloma cell lines and Hodgkin's disease cells and found that both the longer and the shorter isoform of TACI are expressed. We did this by: stimulation of cell lines with IL-6, western blot analysis and densitometry, polymerase chain reaction. Student's t-test, with the use of Statistical Analysis System (Cray, NC), for statistical analysis. Conclusion: Thus, based on our findings of the existence of both isoforms, functional analyses in cardiomyocytes would shed light on any proposed role of TACI in the context if coronary artery disease.

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