muramidase and Coronary-Artery-Disease

To identify a plasma biomarker of atheromatous disease.. Surface-enhanced laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used to identify possible plasma protein biomarkers of atheromatous disease in patients presenting with chronic stable angina pectoris by comparing those with 3-vessel disease with those without any evidence of coronary artery disease. The level of a 14.7-kDa protein was elevated; this protein was isolated and identified as a lysozyme. Arterial plasma lysozyme levels, measured by immunoassay, confirmed this observation in separate cohorts of patients. The application of arterial plasma lysozyme levels to 197 patients with varying degrees of coronary artery disease, using a cutoff value of 1.5 microg/mL, was able to distinguish patients with 1 or more occluded coronary arteries, with 86% sensitivity and 93% specificity. Of 20 patients with carotid atheroma, 19 had increased arterial plasma levels. In contrast, C-reactive protein levels showed no association with disease severity. Venous lysozyme levels in patients with carotid atheroma were shown to decrease after intensive atorvastatin treatment.. Raised plasma lysozyme levels may be a useful biomarker of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and response to therapy. Additional studies to investigate this are warranted.

Topics: Aged; Angina Pectoris; Atorvastatin; Biomarkers; C-Reactive Protein; Carotid Artery Diseases; Coronary Angiography; Coronary Artery Disease; Female; Heptanoic Acids; Humans; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; Immunoassay; Male; Middle Aged; Muramidase; Predictive Value of Tests; Pyrroles; Sensitivity and Specificity; Severity of Illness Index; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; Treatment Outcome; Up-Regulation

Salivary lysozyme (SLZ) is a proteolytic enzyme secreted by oral leucocytes and contains a domain that has an affinity to advanced glycation end products (AGE). Thus, we hypothesized that SLZ would be associated with metabolic syndrome (metS), a pro-inflammatory state.. Utilizing cross-sectional data from 250 coronary artery disease (CAD) and 250 non-CAD patients, the association of SLZ with metS was tested by logistic regression analyses controlling for age, sex, smoking, total cholesterol and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. The analyses were stratified by CAD status to control for the possible effects of CAD.. MetS was found in 122 persons. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for metS associated with the highest quartile of SLZ was 1.95 with 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.20-3.12, p-value=0.007, compared with the lower three quartiles combined. Among the 40 subjects with metS but without CAD, the OR was 1.63 (CI: 0.64-4.15, p=0.31), whereas in the CAD group, SLZ was significantly associated with metS [OR=1.96 (1.09-3.52), p=0.02]. In both subgroups, CRP was not significantly associated with metS.. SLZ was significantly associated with metS (OR=1.95) independent of CRP level. Future longitudinal research is warranted.

Topics: Age Factors; Blood Glucose; Blood Pressure; Body Mass Index; C-Reactive Protein; Case-Control Studies; Cholesterol; Cholesterol, HDL; Cohort Studies; Coronary Artery Disease; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Hypertension; Male; Metabolic Syndrome; Middle Aged; Muramidase; Saliva; Salivary Proteins and Peptides; Sex Factors; Smoking; Triglycerides

Although the etiology of essential hypertension is not clearly understood, endothelial dysfunction from chronic infection and/or impaired glucose metabolism may be involved. We hypothesized that salivary lysozyme, a marker for oral infection and hyperglycemia, might display a significant relationship with hypertension, an early stage of cardiovascular disease. Logistic regression analyses of the Kuopio Oral Health and Heart Study demonstrated that persons with higher lysozyme levels were more likely to have hypertension, after adjustment for age, gender, smoking, BMI, diabetes, the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol, and C-reactive protein. The exposure to increasing quartiles of lysozyme was associated with adjusted Odds Ratios for the outcome, hypertension, 1.00 (referent), 1.25, 1.42, and 2.56 (linear trend p < 0.003). When we restricted the sample to the individuals without heart disease (N = 250), we observed a non-significant trend for increasing odds. Our hypothesis--"high salivary lysozyme levels are associated with the odds of hypertension"--was confirmed.

Topics: Aged; Biomarkers; Case-Control Studies; Cohort Studies; Coronary Artery Disease; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Finland; Humans; Hyperglycemia; Hypertension; Male; Middle Aged; Muramidase; Odds Ratio; Reference Values; Regression Analysis; Saliva; Statistics, Nonparametric