Increased serum anandamide level at ruptured plaque site in patients with acute myocardial infarction.
Inflammation caused by activated macrophages and T lymphocytes may trigger plaque rapture in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Anandamide and 2-arachidonylglycerol (2-AG) are macrophage-derived signal lipids and may be involved in the pathogenesis of ACS, but no clinical relevant data have been reported. In 43 acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients (66 +/- 2 years), blood samples were obtained from the aortic root and the infarct-related coronary artery (IRA) using a PercuSurge system during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). In six patients with stable effort angina (SEA) (56 +/- 6 years), blood samples were obtained from the site of stenosis during elective PCI. In 25 of the 43 AMI patients, anandamide was detected in the serum. Serum anandamide level was 35 +/- 20 pmol/mL in the aorta and was significantly increased to 401 +/- 134 pmol/mL in the IRA (P < 0.01). 2-AG was undetectable in most of the patients. In patients with SEA, neither anandamide nor 2-AG was detected in the serum at the plaque site. In AMI patients with anandamide detected, left ventricular ejection fraction at 2 weeks after PCI was increased by 3.7 +/- 2.1% compared with that at the acute phase, while it was decreased by 3.0 +/- 1.8% in those without anandamide detected (P < 0.05). The serum anandamide level at the culprit lesion was elevated compared with the systemic level in a significant number of AMI patients, indicating the synthesis of anandamide at the IRA. Anandamide was suggested to be derived from ruptured plaque and may exert beneficial effects in humans.
Maeda
Naotaka
N
Department of Cardiology, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Japan.
Osanai
Tomohiro
T
Kushibiki
Motoi
M
Fujiwara
Takayuki
T
Tamura
Yujin
Y
Oowada
Shingen
S
Higuma
Takumi
T
Sasaki
Shingo
S
Yokoyama
Jin
J
Yoshimachi
Fuminobu
F
Matsunaga
Toshiro
T
Hanada
Hiroyuki
H
Okumura
Ken
K
D000368:Aged; D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000503:physiopathology; D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary; D001011:Aorta / Q000503:physiopathology; D001095:Arachidonic Acids / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000097:blood*; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000503:physiopathology*; D063388:Endocannabinoids; D005260:Female; D005989:Glycerides / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000503:physiopathology*; D053284:Polyunsaturated Alkamides / Q000097:blood*; D012422:Rupture, Spontaneous
D001095:Arachidonic Acids; D063388:Endocannabinoids; D005989:Glycerides; D053284:Polyunsaturated Alkamides; C094503:glyceryl 2-arachidonate; C078814:anandamide