Presence of B cells within aortic valves in XXXX with @entity472 : Relation to severity of the disease.

@entity1 @entity32 @entity5 @entity469 @entity2225 @entity730 @entity731 @entity472 @entity25869
BACKGROUND: @entity472 ( @entity472 ) shares several similarities with @entity731 . Recent reports showed that B cells are implicated in @entity731 progression through macrophage-B cells bidirectional interaction. We aimed to study the in loco presence of B cells within aortic valves and to determine its modulators. METHODS: Thirty-seven @entity1 with severe @entity472 were studied. Immunohistochemistry was performed on valve leaflets using antibodies against @entity2225 , B cell-activating factor of the @entity5 necrosis factor family receptor ( @entity25869 ) and @entity469 . Plasma inflammatory markers were also determined. RESULTS: The B cells were detected within aortic leaflets from 5 to 31/mm(2) (17.9  11.6/mm(2)). Double-staining showed that 27  13.5% of B cells express @entity25869 . There were positive correlations between the number of B cells and macrophages (r=0.45, p=0.018), and between macrophages and B cell-associated @entity25869 expression (r=0.66, p=0.002). The number of B cells was associated with the valve @entity730 (r=0.41, p=0.039), and with the maximum transvalvular gradient (r=0.63, p=0.02). The @entity25869 expression was positively correlated with maximum transvalvular gradient (r=0.39, p=0.031) and negatively with aortic valve area (r=-0.41, p=0.048). There were no correlations between the number of B cells and plasma markers. CONCLUSIONS: It might be hypothesized that, like in @entity731 , increasing number of B cells within aortic valves may accelerate @entity32 and thus potentiate the progression of @entity472 .
