The inverse relation between EMP and TG after the in vitro administration of lipid-rich solutions to whole blood.

Whole blood was taken from 8 healthy volunteers (black) and 5 patients with coronary heart disease (red). PPP was prepared from different aliquots to which lipid-rich solutions were added in different concentrations. EMP were detected by flow cytometry as particles <1 µm and CD31+/CD42b−, and TG concentration were determined in plasma. The figure shows EMP numbers/µl PPP from samples without lipid-rich solutions (black inversed triangles for the healthy volunteers and red diamonds for the cardiovascular patients) and samples with added lipid-rich solutions in different concentrations (black quadrangles for the healthy volunteers and red triangles for the cardiovascular patients). Taken all samples together a non-linear inverse relation exists between TG concentration and the number of EMP (r = −0.707, p<0.001). EMP = endothelial microparticles, PPP = platelet poor plasma, TG = triglycerides.