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Published on: January 28, 2020
Soluble LR11 is a novel biomarker for vascular lesions late after Kawasaki disease
Kenichi Watanabe1, Hiroshi Suzuki1, Meizi Jiang2
1Department of Pediatrics, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata, Japan.
Insights
Soluble LR11 (sLR11) levels are significantly higher in Kawasaki disease patients with coronary artery lesions (CALs). This suggests sLR11 may indicate vascular lesion development in these patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Research
- Pediatric Cardiology
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Kawasaki disease (KD) can lead to coronary artery lesions (CALs), increasing atherosclerosis risk.
- Intimal smooth muscle cells (SMCs) play a key role in KD vascular lesions.
- Soluble LR11 (sLR11), expressed in intimal SMCs, is a novel vascular lesion biomarker.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if soluble LR11 (sLR11) levels reflect vascular lesions in patients with a history of Kawasaki disease (KD).
- To assess the association between sLR11 and coronary artery lesions (CALs) post-KD.
Main Methods:
- Serum sLR11 levels were measured in 23 controls and 59 KD patients (36 with normal/regressed coronary arteries, 23 with CALs).
- Statistical analysis compared sLR11 levels across groups and correlated them with inflammatory markers.
Main Results:
- KD patients with CALs exhibited significantly higher serum sLR11 levels compared to controls and KD patients without CALs (p < 0.001 and p < 0.01, respectively).
- sLR11 levels showed positive correlations with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and lipoprotein (a).
Conclusions:
- Elevated sLR11 levels are associated with the presence of coronary artery lesions in Kawasaki disease patients.
- sLR11 may serve as a valuable biomarker for detecting vascular lesion development following KD.
Objective:
Coronary artery lesions (CALs) and a risk for early onset of atherosclerosis are major concerns following Kawasaki disease (KD). Intimal smooth muscle cells (SMCs) have an important role in vascular lesions in KD. It is known that soluble LR11 (sLR11) is a novel biomarker for vascular lesions and LR11 is markedly expressed in intimal SMCs in atherosclerotic lesions. In this study, we hypothesized that sLR11 reflects the presence of vascular lesions late after KD.
Methods:
Twenty-three age-matched controls (group 1) and 59 patients with a history of KD were enrolled; 36 with KD had normal coronary arteries or regressed aneurysms (group 2), and 23 had CALs (group 3).
Results:
Serum sLR11 levels in group 3 (median, interquartile range (IQR): 11.1 ng/mL, 9.3-13.9 ng/mL) were significantly higher than those in groups 1 (8.4 ng/mL, 7.1-10.2 ng/mL, p < 0.001) and 2 (9.0 ng/mL, 7.7-10.1 ng/mL, p < 0.01). Levels of sLR11 were positively correlated with levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (r = 0.480, p < 0.01) and lipoprotein (a) (r = 0.486, p < 0.01).
Conclusion:
These findings suggest that sLR11 reflects the development of vascular lesions in patients with serious CALs.
