Obesity and high waist circumference are associated with low circulating pentraxin-3 in acute coronary syndrome.
BACKGROUND
Long pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is a component of the pentraxin superfamily and a potential marker of vascular damage and inflammation, associated with negative outcome in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Obesity is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and PTX3 production is reported in abdominal adipose tissue. Low PTX3 is however reported in the obese population, and obesity per se may be associated with less negative ACS outcome.


METHODS
We investigated the potential impact of obesity and high waist circumference (reflecting abdominal fat accumulation) on plasma PTX3 concentration in ACS patients (n = 72, 20 obese) compared to age-, sex- and BMI-matched non-ACS individuals.


RESULTS
Both obese and non-obese ACS patients had higher PTX3 than matched non-ACS counterparts, but PTX3 was lower in obese than non-obese individuals in both groups (all P < 0.05). PTX3 was also lower in ACS subjects with high than in those with normal waist circumference (WC). Plasma PTX3 was accordingly associated negatively with BMI and WC, independently of age and plasma creatinine. No associations were observed between PTX3 and plasma insulin, glucose or the short pentraxin and validated inflammation marker C-reactive protein, that was higher in ACS than in non-ACS individuals independently of BMI or WC.


CONCLUSIONS
Obesity is associated with low circulating PTX3 in ACS. This association is also observed in the presence of abdominal fat accumulation as reflected by elevated waist circumference. Low PTX3 is a novel potential modulator of tissue damage and outcome in obese ACS patients.
Clinica Medica-Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy. barazzon@units.it.
Rocco
R
Barazzoni
Aneta
A
Aleksova
Cosimo
C
Carriere
Maria Rosa
MR
Cattin
Michela
M
Zanetti
Pierandrea
P
Vinci
Davide
D
Stolfo
Gianfranco
G
Guarnieri
Gianfranco
G
Sinagra
D050153:Abdominal Fat / Q000378:metabolism; D054058:Acute Coronary Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism*; D000683:Serum Amyloid P-Component / Q000378:metabolism*; D055105:Waist Circumference / Q000502:physiology*; D000099153:Pentraxins
D015415:Biomarkers; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D000683:Serum Amyloid P-Component; D000099153:Pentraxins