Association of Serum Secreted Frizzled-Related Protein 5 Levels With Coronary Artery Disease

Background Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death and premature disability worldwide. Secreted frizzled-related protein 5 (SFRP5), a recently identified adipokine, acts as an antagonist of Wingless-type family member 5A (WNT5A) signaling. Since WNT5A triggers inflammation in endothelial cells, the anti-inflammatory properties of SFRP5 play a crucial role in counteracting this effect. Lower SFRP5 levels contribute to the chronic inflammatory conditions associated with CAD by promoting WNT5A signaling. Aim This study aimed to assess serum SFRP5 levels in CAD patients and compare them with those in non-CAD patients at a tertiary care hospital. Materials and methods The study sample included 40 angiographically confirmed CAD patients as cases and 40 non-CAD patients as controls. Serum SFRP5 levels and lipid profiles were measured and compared between the two groups. Data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 26.0 (Released 2019; IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA), employing descriptive statistics, normality tests, t-tests, chi-square tests, and correlation analyses. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Serum SFRP5 levels were significantly lower in CAD patients (1.25 ± 0.35) compared to controls (2.46 ± 0.96) (p < 0.01). Additionally, SFRP5 showed a significant negative correlation with triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p < 0.05). Conclusions This study demonstrated that serum SFRP5 levels were significantly lower in CAD patients compared to controls. Therefore, serum SFRP5 may serve as a novel biomarker for the early prediction of CAD.