Oligonucleotide microarray and QRT-PCR study of adhesion protein gene expression in acute coronary syndrome patients

Cardiovascular diseases, including acute coronary syndrome (ACS), are the leading cause of death among humans. Adhesion proteins, owing to their involvement in the initiation and progression of atherosclerotic lesions, contribute to the progression of coronary disease and ACS occurrence. Considering ambiguosity of results reported to date, we decided to conduct a preliminary investigation of adhesion protein gene expression in ACS patients as well as in healthy subjects by making use of oligonucleotide microarray technology. Analysis of eight microarrays revealed ten upregulated genes differentiating between the two groups: intercellular adhesion molecule-2, platelet/endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1, zyxin, integrin-linked kinase, calcium and integrin binding protein-1 (calmyrin), integrin beta 2, integrin beta 3 (ITGB3), integrin beta 7, integrin alpha 2b, and selectin P ligand. The expression of ITGB3 was found to have been downregulated.