Evaluation of serum levels of solubilized adhesion molecules in patients with aortocoronary saphenous vein grafts

Abstract

To assess the diagnostic importance of serum-solubilized adhesion molecules, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, sE-selectin and sP-selectin in aortocoronary saphenous vein graft disease. The study population was composed of two groups consisting of 41 patients with saphenous vein graft stenosis (stenosis group) and 43 patients without saphenous vein graft stenosis (no-stenosis group) based on the results of coronary angiography. All patients underwent coronary artery bypass graft operation involving the use of at least one saphenous vein graft for bypass. At the time of cardiac catheterization, it had been more than 1 year since the operation. Serum level of sP-selectin was significantly higher in the stenosis group than in the no-stenosis group (72.9+/-21.7 versus 48.7+/-18.6 ng/ml, P<0.001). No differences were found between the two groups with respect to serum levels of sE-selectin, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1. Multivariate analysis revealed that only serum levels of sP-selectin, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were independently correlated with the stenosis of saphenous vein grafts. A cutoff value of serum sP-selectin >57.5 ng/ml yields a specificity of 79.5%, a sensitivity of 73.3% and a positive predictive value of 80.5% for saphenous vein graft stenosis. In this study, sP-selectin level was found to be significantly higher in the group that had late aortocoronary saphenous vein bypass graft disease. This result suggests that platelet activation may play a causal role in late graft disease.