title: Elevated levels of oxidized low density lipoprotein show a positive relationship with the severity of acute coronary syndromes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is accumulating data that acute coronary syndromes relate to recent onset activation of inflammation affecting atherosclerotic plaques. Increased blood levels of oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) could play a role in these circumstances.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ox-LDL levels were measured in 135 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI; n=45), unstable angina pectoris (UAP; n=45), and stable angina pectoris (SAP; n=45) and in 46 control subjects using a sandwich ELISA method. In addition, 33 atherectomy specimens obtained from a different cohort of patients with SAP (n=10) and UAP (n=23) were studied immunohistochemically for ox-LDL. In AMI patients, ox-LDL levels were significantly higher than in patients with UAP (P<0.0005) or SAP (P<0.0001) or in controls (P<0.0001) (AMI, 1.95+/-1.42 ng/5 microgram LDL protein; UAP, 1.19+/-0.74 ng/5 microgram LDL protein; SAP, 0.89+/-0.48 ng/5 microgram LDL protein; control, 0.58+/-0.23 ng/5 microgram LDL protein). Serum levels of total, HDL, and LDL cholesterol did not differ among these patient groups. In the atherectomy specimens, the surface area containing ox-LDL-positive macrophages was significantly higher in patients with UAP than in those with SAP (P<0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates that ox-LDL levels show a significant positive correlation with the severity of acute coronary syndromes and that the more severe lesions also contain a significantly higher percentage of ox-LDL-positive macrophages. These observations suggest that increased levels of ox-LDL relate to plaque instability in human coronary atherosclerotic lesions.
authors: Department of Cardiology, Osaka City General Hospital, Osaka, Japan.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Ehara
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Ueda
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Naruko
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Haze
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Itoh
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Otsuka
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Komatsu
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Matsuo
authors: H
authors: H
authors: Itabe
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Takano
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Tsukamoto
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Yoshiyama
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Takeuchi
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Yoshikawa
authors: A E
authors: AE
authors: Becker
mesh_terms: D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D000789:Angina, Unstable / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D017225:Atherectomy, Coronary; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL / Q000378:metabolism*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL; C099252:oxidized low density lipoprotein; D002784:Cholesterol