Elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in coronary artery thrombi

To validate the hypothesis that artery sites occluded with thrombi release pro-inflammatory cytokines, we measured concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 in infarct-related coronary artery thrombi and atherosclerotic plaque specimens obtained with a transluminal extraction catheter (TEC) from cases of acute myocardial infarction (MI). Fifteen patients (group I) were enrolled in the study and four sets of samples were obtained (taken from the right atrium both before and after angioplasty, from infarct-related coronary artery thrombi and atherosclerotic plaque aspirated with a TEC and from the thoracic aorta aspirated with a TEC). Ten patients undergoing elective TEC served as controls (group II). IL-6 and IL-8 were measured in all patients by means of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Both IL-6 and IL-8 levels of infarct-related coronary artery samples in group I were significantly higher than in group II (mean ± SEM, 15.3 ± 4.5 vs. 3.8 ± 1.2 pg/ml; P < 0.01 and 44.0 ± 2.4 vs. 15.6 ± 0.6 pg/ml; P < 0.001, respectively). The results suggest that pro-inflammatory cytokines originate from occluded coronary arteries in acute MI.