Elevated Concentration of Interferon-Inducible Protein of 10 kD (IP-10) Is Associated With Coronary Atherosclerosis

Several studies have shown that various chemokines are more highly expressed in atherosclerotic plaques than in normal vessel walls. In the present study, we investigated the relationship between coronary atherosclerosis and noteworthy chemokines, including interferon-inducible protein of 10 kD (IP-10); monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1); regulated on activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES); and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), an established marker of atherosclerotic disease. We studied 28 patients who underwent coronary angiography because of suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). CAD was defined as stenosis of more than 50% of the vessel diameter on coronary angiograms. Blood samples were obtained both from the aorta and the coronary sinus (CS) just before coronary angiography. Relative to CAD (-) patients, those who were CAD (+) tended to have higher plasma concentrations of IP-10 in the aorta, as well as significantly higher transcoronary concentration gradients of circulating IP-10. There were no significant differences between the two groups in aortic plasma concentrations or transcoronary concentration gradients of MCP-1, RANTES, and hsCRP. Furthermore, both the aortic plasma concentrations and transcoronary concentration gradients of IP-10 correlated with the Gensini score (r = 0.58 and r = 0.63, respectively, P < 0.01), while the plasma MCP-1, RANTES, and serum hsCRP concentrations did not. This study suggests that IP-10 is a good surrogate marker of coronary atherosclerosis.