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Published on: August 13, 2015
Elevated serum concentrations of soluble adhesion molecules in coronary artery disease and acute myocardial
H Zeitler1, Y Ko, C Zimmermann
1Medizinische Universitäts-Poliklinik, Willhelmstr. 35-37, Bonn D-53111, Germany.
Insights
Elevated soluble adhesion molecules (SAMs) are linked to coronary heart disease and acute myocardial infarction. High SAM levels may predict fatal outcomes in heart attack patients, independent of other risk factors.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular research
- Immunology
- Biomarker discovery
Background:
- Adhesion molecules are crucial in chronic conditions, including atherosclerosis.
- Soluble adhesion molecules (SAMs) are implicated in angiogenesis, a key process in atherosclerosis.
- Assessing SAMs in atherosclerosis provides insights into disease mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of elevated soluble adhesion molecule plasma concentrations in patients with atherosclerosis.
- To investigate the impact of these elevated levels on cardiovascular disease outcomes.
- To explore the role of SAMs in the acute and chronic phases of atherosclerosis.
Main Methods:
- Measured plasma concentrations of soluble intercellular adhesive molecule (sICAM), soluble endothelial adhesive molecule (sELAM), and soluble vascular adhesive molecule (sVCAM).
- Utilized a sandwich ELISA technique for precise quantification.
- Compared levels in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), coronary heart disease (CHD), and healthy subjects (HS).
Main Results:
- Patients with CHD and AMI exhibited significantly higher plasma levels of sICAM, sELAM, and sVCAM compared to healthy subjects.
- Elevated SAM levels were observed in patients with fatal myocardial infarction outcomes versus survivors.
- SAM levels were not correlated with common cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes or hypertension.
Conclusions:
- Elevated SAM levels are prevalent in patients with coronary heart disease.
- High plasma SAM concentrations serve as a prognostic indicator for acute myocardial infarction, independent of other risk factors.
- SAMs appear to play a role in both the acute inflammatory response of myocardial infarction and the chronic progression of atherosclerosis.
Objectives:
Adhesion molecules are involved in a number of chronic conditions and diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, tumor growth and wound repair. Soluble adhesion molecules (SAM) play an important role in angiogenesis which is a common aspect of the conditions mentioned above and atherosclerosis. The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence and the impact of elevated soluble adhesive molecule plasma concentrations in patients with atherosclerosis.
Design And Subjects:
In this study, we measured the soluble forms of intercellular adhesive molecule (sICAM), endothelial adhesive molecule (sELAM) and vascular adhesive molecule (sVCAM) using a sandwich ELISA technique in plasma of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), coronary heart disease (CHD) and in healthy subjects (HS).
Results:
Patients suffering from CHD and AMI showed significant higher plasma concentrations of sICAM (p <0. 05 and p <0.005), sELAM (p <0.01 and p <0.001) and sVCAM (p <0.001 and p <0.005) than HS. In patients with fatal outcome of myocardial infarction the plasma concentrations of sICAM, sELAM and sVCAM were significantly elevated compared to surviving patients (p <0.005; p <0.005; p <0.05). In patients undergoing thrombolytic therapy there were no significant differences of plasma adhesive molecule concentrations. The levels of SAM were not related to other risk factors like diabetes, nicotin abuse, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and a familiary history of cardiovascular disease.
Conclusions:
Elevated levels of SAMs are found in patients with coronary heart disease. High SAM levels in plasma seem to be a prognostic factor in acute myocardial infarction. This effect is independent from other concomitant risk factors. Our results suggest that SAMs are involved both in acute phase of myocardial infarction and chronic process of atherosclerosis. It seems that similiar to other chronic inflammatory diseases, atherosclerosis seems to be modulated by soluble forms of adhesive molecules.
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