Association between serum chemokine CC-motif ligand 17 and coronary artery disease

Abstract

Chemokines, a family of small chemotactic cytokines, have been recognized as important contributors to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and related cardiovascular disease [1]. Chemokine CC ligand 17 (CCL 17), also known as thymus activation and regulated chemokine (TARC), is a member of the chemokine family. Recently, Weber et al. found that dendritic cell-derived CCL17 accumulated in advanced human and mouse atherosclerotic lesions. Furthermore, deficiency or blockade of dendritic cell-derived CCL17 reduced atherosclerosis by expanding regulatory T cells (Tregs), whereas CCL17 expression in dendritic cells limited Treg retention to promote atherosclerosis, suggesting CCL17 as an important regulator of atherosclerosis [2]. To date, however, there has been no report exploring the relationship between serum CCL 17 levels and CAD. In the current study, we measured the serum CCL17 levels in patients with andwithout CAD and tried to determine the association between serum CCL17 levels and different forms of CAD or severity of CAD. The study population consisted of a cohort of 119 patients who underwent coronary angiography from January 2012 to December 2012 in a single academic center. Patients were divided into 4 groups according to diagnosis: 30 consecutive patients with angiographically normal coronary arteries (b20% stenosis), 30 consecutive patients with stable angina pectoris (SAP) and N50% stenosis in at least one major coronary artery branch, 29 consecutive patients with nonST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and 30 consecutive patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Exclusion criteria included dermatitis, current infection, malignancy, auto-immune disease, vasculitis, asthma, cirrhosis, severe renal failure (eGFR b 30 ml/min) and shock. This study has been approved by the local Ethics Committees and all participants have given their informed consent. Coronary angiography (CA) was performed with a conventional angiography unit (Integris H; Philips Medical Systems). The severity of atherosclerosis was determined using the Gensini score (GSS) [6]. Blood for determining serum levels of CCL 17 and high sensitive-C reactive protein (hs-CRP) was collected from the radial or femoral artery after the insertion of sheathe prior to any anticoagulation and coronary angiography. Serum CCL 17 concentrations weremeasured with the Quantikine ELISA development kit for human CCL17/TARC (RD NSTEMI 316.17 ± 162.26 pg/ml; STEMI 339.54 ± 130.26 pg/ml; p for ANOVA= 0.682). There was a linear relationship between serum CCL 17 levels and the Gensini Scores (R = 0.24, p = 0.024). No associationwas found between serum CCL 17 levels and age, BMI, lipid profile, creatinine or Hs-CRP levels.