Plasma Heme Oxygenase-1 Levels in Patients with Coronary and Peripheral Artery Diseases

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is an intracellular enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of heme to generate CO, biliverdin, and iron. Since these products have antiatherogenic properties, HO-1 may play a protective role against the progression of atherosclerosis. However, plasma HO-1 levels in patients with atherosclerotic diseases, such as coronary artery disease (CAD) and peripheral artery disease (PAD), have not been clarified yet.

We investigated plasma HO-1 levels by ELISA in 410 consecutive patients undergoing elective coronary angiography who also had an ankle-brachial index (ABI) test for PAD screening.

Of the 410 study patients, CAD was present in 225 patients (55%) (1-vessel (1-VD), n = 91; 2-vessel (2-VD), n = 66; 3-vessel disease (3-VD), n = 68). PAD (ABI < 0.9) was found in 36 (9%) patients. Plasma HO-1 levels did not differ between 225 patients with CAD and 185 without CAD (median 0.44 versus 0.35 ng/mL), but they were significantly lower in 36 patients with PAD than in 374 without PAD (0.27 versus 0.41 ng/mL, P < 0.02). After excluding the 36 patients with PAD, HO-1 levels were significantly higher in 192 patients with CAD than in 182 without CAD (0.45 versus 0.35 ng/mL, P < 0.05). HO-1 levels in 4 groups of CAD(-), 1-VD, 2-VD, and 3-VD were 0.35, 0.49, 0.44, and 0.44 ng/mL, respectively, and were highest in 1-VD (P < 0.05). In the multivariate analysis, HO-1 levels were inversely associated with PAD, whereas they were also associated with CAD. The odds ratios for PAD and CAD were 2.12 (95% CI = 1.03-4.37) and 0.65 (95% CI = 0.42-0.99) for the HO-1 level of <0.35 ng/mL, respectively.

Plasma HO-1 levels were found to be low in patients with PAD, in contrast to high levels in patients with CAD.