Jeremías Bayón, Department of Cardiology, Hospital Universitario Lucus Augusti, Lugo, Spain
Amparo Alfonso, Department of Pharmacology, School of Veterinary, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
Melisa Santás-Álvarez, Department of Cardiology, Hospital Universitario Lucus Augusti (HULA), Lugo, Spain
Eva Alonso, Department of Pharmacology, School of Veterinary, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; Santiago de Compostela Health Research Institute Foundation (FIDIS), Hospital Universitario Lucus Augusti. Lugo, Spain
Ana Testa-Fernández, Department of Cardiology, Hospital Universitario Lucus Augusti (HULA), Lugo, Spain
Ramón Ríos-Vázquez, Department of Cardiology, Hospital Universitario Lucus Augusti, Lugo, Spain
Raymundo Ocaranza-Sánchez, Department of Cardiology, Hospital Universitario Lucus Augusti (HULA), Lugo, Spain
Rosa A. Abellás-Sequeiros , Unidad de Cardiología Intervencionista. Hospital Universitario Lucus Augusti, Lugo, España
Juliana Elices-Teja, Department of Cardiology, Hospital Universitario Lucus Augusti, Lugo, Spain
Luis Botana, Department of Pharmacology, School of Veterinary, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
Carlos González-Juanatey, Department of Cardiology, Hospital Universitario Lucus Augusti (HULA), Lugo, Spain
Objective: This study is aimed at investigating the changes in serum CypC levels and their relationship with cardiovascular events at 12 months of follow-up in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. Methods: The study included a total of 125 subjects (40 patients with acute CAD, 40 patients with chronic CAD, and 45 control volunteers) and we analyzed plasma CypC levels from baseline to 6 and 12 months for a better understanding of its behavior in atherosclerosis. Results: Serum CypC levels were shown to be gradually increased in CAD patients (30.63 pg/mL ± 3.77 at baseline, 38.70 pg/mL ± 6.41 at 6 months [p = 0.25], and 47.27 pg/mL ± 5.65 at 12 months [p = 0.007]). In addition, serum CypC levels during the follow-up were a significant predictor of CAD (c-statistic 0.76 at 6 months and 0.89 at 12 months; p < 0.001). Despite it, there was no significant association between CypC and cardiovascular events, but serum CypC levels tended to be higher in patients suffering cardiovascular events during the follow-up (29.02 pg/mL ± 6.39 vs. 79.96 pg/mL ± 22.18; p = 0.029). In this regard, plasma levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) > 2.3 mg/L plus NT-proBNP > 300 pg/mL together were significant predictors of cardiovascular events during the follow-up in CAD patients with CypC levels >17.5 pg/mL (p = 0.048). Conclusions: Taken together, our results suggest that serum CypC levels increase during the follow-up in CAD patients and could be a novel biomarker with a possible prognostic value in combination with hsCRP and NT-proBNP.
Keywords: Coronary artery disease. Inflammation. Cyclophilin. Biomarkers.