Objective: To investigate relations of several circulating chemokines with extent and phenotype of coronary atherosclerosis and with 1-year clinical outcome.
Methods: Intravascular ultrasound virtual histology (IVUS-VH) imaging of a coronary artery was performed in 581 patients. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (MIP-1α), MIP-1β and regulated upon activation normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) were measured in plasma.
Results: Higher MCP-1, MIP-1α and lower RANTES were associated with coronary plaque burden. Higher MCP-1, MIP-1α and lower RANTES were associated with the presence of IVUS-VH-derived thin-cap fibroatheroma lesions. RANTES was associated with major adverse cardiac events.
Conclusions: RANTES is a promising biomarker that is inversely associated with coronary plaque burden and vulnerability, as well as with death and acute coronary syndrome.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01789411.
Keywords: Atherosclerosis; biomarker; chemokines; intravascular ultrasound; prognosis.