Plasma osteopontin concentration is elevated in patients with coronary bare metal stent restenosis

Osteopontin is a component of atherosclerotic lesions, secreted by monocytes, macrophages and endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells, which together are responsible for neointimal proliferation. We examined whether elevated plasma osteopontin concentration was associated with in-stent restenosis in patients with coronary artery disease.

We enrolled 91 patients who underwent coronary artery stenting, and 60 control patients with normal findings on coronary angiography, between June 2012 and September 2013. For patients with stents, we measured plasma osteopontin concentration at the first follow-up coronary angiogram. For controls, plasma osteopontin concentration was measured at the time of angiography.

Of the 91 patients who had undergone coronary artery stenting, 31 (34.1%) had developed in-stent restenosis and the mean time passed to control coronary angiography was 36.7 months (±SD 35.1 months). Mean plasma osteopontin concentration in this group was 2721.4 ± 1787.8 pg/ml, significantly higher than the 60 patients (65.9%) with no in-stent restenosis (1770.4 ± 1208.2 pg/ml, p = .011) and the 60 patients with a normal coronary angiogram (1572.4 ± 904.8 pg/ml, p = .002). There was no significant difference in mean osteopontin concentration between the patients with no in-stent restenosis and the control group (p = .312).

Elevated plasma osteopontin concentration is associated with in-stent stenosis in patients with coronary artery disease. Further studies will be needed to establish whether osteopontin can predict in-stent restenosis and guide clinical management strategies.