Serum adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein is independently associated with coronary atherosclerotic burden measured by intravascular ultrasound.
OBJECTIVE
Adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein (A-FABP) has been shown to have an effect on insulin resistance, lipid metabolism, and atherosclerosis in animals. We therefore investigated the association between the serum A-FABP level and coronary atherosclerosis.


METHODS
One hundred twenty-five consecutive patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) were enrolled after coronary angiography. Plaque volume in non-culprit coronary arteries was determined using intravascular ultrasound and expressed as percent plaque volume (%PV). Voluntary blood donors (n=120), matched for age and gender, served as controls. Serum levels of A-FABP, adiponectin, and inflammatory markers were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.


RESULTS
The serum A-FABP level in CAD patients was significantly higher than in control subjects (median [25th-75th percentiles], 27.2 [20.5-37.1] ng/mL vs. 18.9 [14.6-24.5] ng/mL) (p<0.01). Serum A-FABP showed 0.74 of the area under the curve in the receiver operating characteristic curve for the detection of CAD, with 76% specificity and 65% sensitivity with a cut-off value of 20.1 ng/mL. Further, in CAD patients, serum A-FABP had a significant correlation with %PV in all subjects (r=0.33, p<0.01). Serum A-FABP was positively correlated with the body mass index, serum interleukin-6 and high-sensitive CRP, and negatively correlated with HDL-cholesterol and serum adiponectin in CAD patients. Stepwise regression analysis revealed that serum A-FABP was independently associated with %PV.


CONCLUSIONS
Increased serum A-FABP was significantly associated with a greater coronary plaque burden. Our findings revealed that the measurement of serum A-FABP could be utilized for the evaluation of the extent of coronary atherosclerosis.
Miyoshi
Toru
T
Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1, Shikata-cho, Okayama 700-8558, Japan. miyoshit@cc.okayama-u.ac.jp
Onoue
Go
G
Hirohata
Atsushi
A
Hirohata
Satoshi
S
Usui
Shinichi
S
Hina
Kazuyoshi
K
Kawamura
Hiroshi
H
Doi
Masayuki
M
Kusano
Kengo Fukushima
KF
Kusachi
Shozo
S
Ninomiya
Yoshifumi
Y
D052242:Adiponectin / Q000097:blood; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000150:complications; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014463:Ultrasonography
C499918:ADIPOQ protein, human; D052242:Adiponectin; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; C493410:FABP4 protein, human; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins; D015850:Interleukin-6; D002097:C-Reactive Protein