The Relation of Serum Pentraxin-3 Levels with Coronary Artery Ectasia

Abstract

Introduction: Coronary artery ectasia is characterized as the dilation of a segment of coronary artery at least 1.5 times the adjacent segment in which infl ammation, neurohormonal activity and atherosclerosis are held responsible for the pathogenesis. The association between the coronary artery ectasia and infl ammatory markers has been shown, however there is nodata related to Pentraxine 3 (PTX-3). In this study, we investigated the association between serum PTX-3 and high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels in patients with coronary artery ectasia. Patients and Methods: The study population consisted of 66 patients who underwent coronary angiography with the suspicion of coronary artery disease and 32 controls. Patients were divided in two groups as the coronary artery ectasia group (n= 34) and coronary artery disease group (n= 32). PTX-3 and hs-CRP levels were measured. Results: Serum PTX-3 levels were comparable between coronary artery disease and coronary artery ectasia groups (0.67 ± 0.29 vs. 0.66 ± 0.34, p= 0.63), coronary artery disease and coronary artery ectasia groups had signifi cantly increased PTX-3 levels when compared to the control group (0.67 ± 0.29 vs. 0.32 ± 0.24, p< 0.001; 0.66 ± 0.34 vs. 0.32 ± 0.24, p< 0.001; respectively). Similarly, hs-CRP levels were comparable in coronary artery disease and coronary artery ectasia groups (1.4 ± 0.7 vs. 1.2 ± 0.5, p= 0.19), coronary artrey disease and coronary artery ectasia groups had signifi cantly increased hs-CRP levels when compared to the control group (1.4 ± 0.7 vs. 0.8 ± 0.5, p< 0.001; 1.2 ± 0.5 vs. 0.8 ± 0.5, p< 0.001 respectively). The correlation analysis revealed that serum PTX-3 was associated with hs-CRP (Rho= 0.24, p= 0.016). Conclusion: PTX-3, a novel infl ammatory marker, is elevated in patients with coronary artery ectasia and may be promising biomarker in refl ecting the infl ammatory status in patients with coronary artery ectasia.