Novel cytokine expression relationship with IL18 in African Americans 4486

Abstract Description Background/Significance: IL-18 has a role in cardiometabolic disorders, the interaction between IL-18 and other cytokines, particularly regarding sexual dimorphism in African American populations, remains underexplored. While sex differences in cytokine expression and cholesterol levels have been noted, their manifestation across sexes in African Americans is understudied. We hypothesize that inflammatory cytokine profiles in this demographic exhibit distinct sex-specific patterns, offering insights into cardiometabolic disease mechanisms and immune response differences across sexes. Methods Blood samples from 190 males and 369 females aged 40 to 92 were collected as part of the Discovery of Us™ Project. The cohort was divided into six groups based on IL-18 levels. Cytokine expression was quantified using Mean Fluorescence Intensity (MFI) from high-sensitivity multiplex assays on the xMAP Intelliflex DRO platform. Data were analyzed using linear regression and T-tests. Results Analysis showed significant correlations between IL-18 levels and cholesterol, LDL, HDL, and VLDL. Males had no correlation between IL18 and cholesterol or lipids, while females showed a strong IL18 correlation with cholesterol and lipids, p = <0.024. Conclusions These findings provide novel insights into sex-specific differences in cytokine profiles in African American populations, which may influence cardiometabolic disease prevalence and severity. Funding Sources Acknowledgment of funding: This research is supported in part by grant number U54MD007602, R01MD017405 from the National Institutes of Health. Topic Categories Immune Mechanisms of Human Disease (HUM)