Abstract
Background and aimsIn healthy, young adults we analyzed a panel of cardiovascular disease related proteins in plasma and compared them with the vascular health of the subjects. The aim was to identify proteins with a relationship to the early atherosclerotic process in healthy individuals.MethodsWe employed the proximity extension assay from OLINK proteomics to analyze 92 cardiovascular disease (CVD) related proteins on 833 subjects (men and women, ages 18–26). The women were further divided into an estrogen-using group and non-users. Protein expression was analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA). The following vascular examinations were performed: Pulse-wave velocity (PWV), augmentation index (AIX), carotid-intima media thickness (cIMT).ResultsThree principal components were obtained using PCA to analyze the protein expression. None of the obtained principal components correlated significantly with AIX or cIMT. One of the components, explaining 6% of the total variance of the data, was significantly correlated with PWV. Upon examination of the proteins with the highest factor loadings on this component independently in a multivariable model, adjusting for established CVD risk biomarkers, insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 1 (IGFBP-1) and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 2 (IGFBP-2) were found to independently, negatively correlate with PWV. Among the established risk factors included in the multivariable model, age was significantly and adversely correlated with all vascular measurements.ConclusionsIn this population of healthy, young adults, groups of CVD related proteins correlate with PWV, but not AIX or cIMT. This group of proteins, of which IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-2 were independently, negatively correlated in a multivariable model with PWV, could have benificial effects on vascular stiffness. The robust association between age and PWV, AIX and cIMT provide insight into the impact of aging on the vasculature, which is detectable even in a population of young, healthy, non-smoking individuals of ages spanning only 8 years.
Highlights
While cardiovascular disease (CVD) predominantly affects the elderly, the atherosclerotic progression begins in childhood [1]
The principal components (PC) were entered in a multivariable linear regression model to examine their possible correlations with pulse-wave velocity (PWV), augmentation index (AIX) and carotidintima media thickness (cIMT)
Glucose, insulin and C-reactive protein (CRP) were included in the model to assess whether the correlations found were independent of the effect of the established biomarkers of CVD
Summary
While cardiovascular disease (CVD) predominantly affects the elderly, the atherosclerotic progression begins in childhood [1]. An increased pulse-wave velocity (PWV) in childhood, a measurement of vascular stiffness, is associated with an increased risk of later developing CVD [3]. Traditional risk factors such as dyslipidemia, increased. Pettersson‐Pablo et al BMC Cardiovasc Disord (2021) 21:131 blood pressure and obesity are commonly observed in a clinical setting involving adult CVD patients. These risk factors, set already in childhood may confer an increased risk of early CVD [4]. The aim was to identify proteins with a relation‐ ship to the early atherosclerotic process in healthy individuals
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