Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic and risk predictive value of emerging proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory adipocytokines on coronary artery disease (CAD).
Patients and methods: The study involved 259 inpatients suspected acute coronary syndrome who underwent coronary angiography. Demographic, clinical characteristics, and coronary artery stenosis rated by Gensini score were collected by cardiovascular doctors. The levels of serum inflammatory adipocytokines were evaluated by ELISA. The correlations of the cytokines with clinical parameters were assessed. Receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed for the diagnosis of CAD.
Results: The 259 inpatients were assigned to the CAD (n = 180) and control groups (n = 79). Compared with the control group, the CAD group displayed significantly higher serum levels of retinol-binding protein-4 (RBP4), pentraxin 3 (PTX3), galectin-3 (GAL-3), and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1), and significantly lower levels of netrin-1 (NTN1), interleukin-37 (IL-37), and adiponectin (ADP) (all P < 0.05). PAI-1 was significantly upregulated, and IL-37 and ADP were significantly downregulated in the three-vessels CAD subgroup compared to the one- and two-vessels CAD subgroups (P < 0.05). The RBP4, PTX3, GAL-3, PAI-1, and IL-37 inflammatory cytokines were significantly positively correlated with Gensini score, and ADP was negatively correlated (all P < 0.001). IL-37 was a more accurate anti-inflammatory biomarker than NTN1 and ADP. Combining cytokines significantly increased the sensitivity and specificity.
Conclusion: The inflammatory adipocytokines GAL-3, RBP4, PTX3, NTN1, and IL-37 were more effective than the classical biomarkers PAI-1 and ADP in the diagnosis and risk assessment of CAD patients.