Elevated Levels of Neopterin are Associated with Carotid Plaques with Complex Morphology in Patients with Stable Angina Pectoris Export

@article{citeulike:5457778, abstract = {Neopterin is an activation marker for monocytes/macrophages, and circulating levels of neopterin are elevated in patients with coronary complex lesions in unstable angina pectoris. We investigated the possible association between neopterin and complex carotid plaques which may be associated with the risk of ischemic stroke in patients with stable angina pectoris (SAP). We measured plasma levels of neopterin in 102 patients with SAP and carotid ultrasound was performed for evaluation of the presence of carotid plaques and plaque surface characteristics categorized as complex or noncomplex. In addition, endarterectomy specimens of extracranial high-grade carotid stenosis with complex plaques from 5 patients with SAP were immunohistochemically examined with antibodies to smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells, platelets, macrophages, and T cells. Plasma neopterin levels were significantly higher in patients with complex carotid plaques than in those with noncomplex plaques (24.2 [19.2-39.3] nmol/L vs. 19.4 [11.9-25.1]; P  = 0.01) or without any plaques (18.8 [14.9-23.6] nmol/L; P  = 0.001). On multivariate logistic analyses after adjustment for traditional atherosclerotic risk factors, multi-vessel coronary disease and high sensitivity C-reactive protein, neopterin levels were independently associated with the presence of complex carotid plaques (adjusted OR 2.21 per SD increase, 95\%CI 1.13-4.33, P  = 0.02). Immunohistochemical staining revealed abundant neopterin-positive macrophages in carotid complex lesions. These findings demonstrate that carotid plaques with complex morphology have increased circulating neopterin levels and immunohistochemical localization of neopterin in patients with SAP. Neopterin can be considered an important biomarker of plaque destabilization in carotid artery atherosclerotic lesions in this population.}, author = {Sugioka, Kenichi and Naruko, Takahiko and Hozumi, Takeshi and Nakagawa, Masashi and Kitabayashi, Chizuko and Ikura, Yoshihiro and Shirai, Nobuyuki and Matsumura, Yoshiki and Ehara, Shoichi and Ujino, Keiji}, citeulike-article-id = {5457778}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2009.07.054}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0021915009006212}, day = {07}, doi = {10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2009.07.054}, issn = {00219150}, journal = {Atherosclerosis}, keywords = {neopterin}, month = {August}, posted-at = {2009-11-05 01:52:41}, priority = {2}, title = {Elevated Levels of Neopterin are Associated with Carotid Plaques with Complex Morphology in Patients with Stable Angina Pectoris}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2009.07.054}, year = {2009} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:5457778 L3 - citeulike-article-id:5457778 N2 - Neopterin is an activation marker for monocytes/macrophages, and circulating levels of neopterin are elevated in patients with coronary complex lesions in unstable angina pectoris. We investigated the possible association between neopterin and complex carotid plaques which may be associated with the risk of ischemic stroke in patients with stable angina pectoris (SAP). We measured plasma levels of neopterin in 102 patients with SAP and carotid ultrasound was performed for evaluation of the presence of carotid plaques and plaque surface characteristics categorized as complex or noncomplex. In addition, endarterectomy specimens of extracranial high-grade carotid stenosis with complex plaques from 5 patients with SAP were immunohistochemically examined with antibodies to smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells, platelets, macrophages, and T cells. Plasma neopterin levels were significantly higher in patients with complex carotid plaques than in those with noncomplex plaques (24.2 [19.2-39.3] nmol/L vs. 19.4 [11.9-25.1]; P  = 0.01) or without any plaques (18.8 [14.9-23.6] nmol/L; P  = 0.001). On multivariate logistic analyses after adjustment for traditional atherosclerotic risk factors, multi-vessel coronary disease and high sensitivity C-reactive protein, neopterin levels were independently associated with the presence of complex carotid plaques (adjusted OR 2.21 per SD increase, 95%CI 1.13-4.33, P  = 0.02). Immunohistochemical staining revealed abundant neopterin-positive macrophages in carotid complex lesions. These findings demonstrate that carotid plaques with complex morphology have increased circulating neopterin levels and immunohistochemical localization of neopterin in patients with SAP. Neopterin can be considered an important biomarker of plaque destabilization in carotid artery atherosclerotic lesions in this population. JF - Atherosclerosis SN - 00219150 TI - Elevated Levels of Neopterin are Associated with Carotid Plaques with Complex Morphology in Patients with Stable Angina Pectoris KW - neopterin AU - Sugioka, Kenichi AU - Naruko, Takahiko AU - Hozumi, Takeshi AU - Nakagawa, Masashi AU - Kitabayashi, Chizuko AU - Ikura, Yoshihiro AU - Shirai, Nobuyuki AU - Matsumura, Yoshiki AU - Ehara, Shoichi AU - Ujino, Keiji PY - 2009/08/07/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2009.07.054 ER -