Levels of soluble cell adhesion molecules in patients with angiographically defined coronary atherosclerosis

Adhesion molecules on the endothelial cell membrane play an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Levels of soluble forms of cell adhesion molecules are reportedly elevated in patients with peripheral artery vessel disease and in patients with an atherosclerotic aorta. The present study investigated the association of serum levels of soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM-1), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1), and soluble P-selectin (sP-selectin) with coronary heart disease (CHD) and the extent of coronary atherosclerosis, and examined the influence of serum levels of lipids, lipoproteins and apolipoproteins (apo) in subjects with (n=52, M/F:43/9) and without (controls, n=40, M/F:25/15) angiographically proven coronary atherosclerosis. After controlling for age and gender, levels of sVCAM-1 (least squares mean +/- std error: 565+/-36 ng/ml vs 540+/-41 ng/ml, ns), sICAM-1 (261+/-17ng/ml vs 247+/-19ng/ml, ns), and sP-selectin (142+/-8ng/ml vs 149+/-10 ng/ml, ns) in patients with coronary atherosclerosis were not different from those in controls, as assessed by an analysis of covariance. After also adjusting for body mass index, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and smoking by a multiple logistic function analysis, the association of sVCAM-1, sICAM-1, and sP-selectin with CHD was still not significant. Levels of sVCAM-1, sICAM-1, and sP-selectin were also not related to the extent of coronary atherosclerosis as judged by the number of stenosed vessels. However, inverse (p<0.05) relationships were observed between sVCAMs and serum levels of HDL3-cholesterol, apo A-II, and lipoprotein containing apo A-I and A-II, between sICAMs and levels of apo A-II and Lp A-I/A-II (Lp A-I/A-II), and between sP-selectin and lipoprotein containing only apo A-I. In conclusion, serum levels of soluble VCAM-1, ICAM-1, and P-selectin were not related to CHD or the extent of coronary atherosclerosis, but were inversely related to serum levels of high-density lipoprotein-related lipoproteins.