title: Association between inflammatory biomarkers and thin-cap fibroatheroma detected by optical coherence tomography in patients with coronary heart disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The relationship between plaque morphology detected by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and inflammatory biomarkers is not well known.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study included 47 patients with ischemic heart disease (22 patients with acute coronary syndrome and 25 patients with effort angina pectoris) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Before PCI, peripheral blood levels of the inflammatory biomarkers high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured. The OCT can detect thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA), a lesion with high potential for adverse cardiac events. We investigated the relationships between TCFAs in culprit lesions detected by OCT and the peripheral blood levels of these biomarkers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed 12 lesions detected as TCFAs. The natural logs of hs-CRP and IL-6 levels in the TCFA group were higher than those in the non-TCFA group (hs-CRP 0.87 (-0.96 to 0.87) vs. -0.47 (-0.92 to 0.30) mg/l, p = 0.027; and IL-6 1.63 (0.63-3.23) vs. 0.53 (-0.21 to 1.05) pg/dl, p = 0.005, respectively). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, log IL-6 was an independent predictor for TCFA detected by OCT (log IL-6, 0.970 pg/dl, p = 0.023). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis confirmed that IL-6, compared to hs-CRP, has a higher area under the curve for predicting TCFA (0.783 vs. 0.715, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Peripheral blood levels of both hs-CRP and IL-6 were associated with TCFAs, as detected by OCT. Moreover, IL-6 has a higher potential than hs-CRP for predicting TCFA.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Kohei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koyama
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Kihei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoneyama
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Takanobu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mitarai
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishibashi
authors.affiliation: St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Yokohama-city Seibu Hospital, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kongoji
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Harada
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshihiro J
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Akashi
keywords: biomarkers; optical coherence tomography; vulnerable plaque