Pentraxin 3, a novel cardiovascular biomarker, is expressed in aortic specimens of patients with coronary artery disease with and without rheumatoid arthritis.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The aims were to evaluate the presence and extent of pentraxin 3 depositions in specimens from the outer layers of the aorta and from the internal thoracic artery of patients with coronary artery disease with and without rheumatoid arthritis and to search for relationships between pentraxin 3 and vascular inflammation.

METHODS:

Using histochemistry and immunohistochemistry, we examined biopsies from the aortic adventitia and from the internal thoracic artery (both with adjacent perivascular tissue), removed during coronary artery bypass grafting in 19 rheumatoid arthritis and 20 non-rheumatoid-arthritis patients, for presence/extent of pentraxin 3 depositions, inflammatory cell infiltrates, and fibrosis.

RESULTS:

In the aorta, pentraxin 3 deposition occurred in all specimens, mostly at sites with inflammatory cell infiltrates or fibrosis, and their extent was related to the extent of inflammatory cell infiltrates (rho=0.43, 95% confidence interval: 0.13-0.66, P=.007). The extent of pentraxin 3 and inflammatory cell infiltrates in the aorta was similar in rheumatoid arthritis and non-rheumatoid-arthritis patients, but rheumatoid arthritis patients had more fibrosis and a lower proportion of T-cells in inflammatory cell infiltrates. In the internal thoracic artery, pentraxin 3 occurred only in 36% patients, and inflammatory cell infiltrates and fibrosis occurred in none.

CONCLUSIONS:

Pentraxin 3 depositions in the outer aortic layers are common and are related to the local inflammation. On the other hand, they occur less frequently in the internal thoracic artery, i.e., a vessel highly resistant to atherosclerosis. Rheumatoid arthritis patients had more pronounced fibrosis in the aortic specimens and a different leukocytic response than non-rheumatoid-arthritis patients. In theory, pentraxin 3 might modulate the inflammatory process involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease and represent a target for new therapies.

• Authors: Ivana Hollan, Manuela Nebuloni, Barbara Bottazzi, Knut Mikkelsen, Oystein T Førre, Sven Martin Almdahl, Alberto Mantovani, Morten Wang Fagerland, Pål Aukrust, Pier Luigi Meroni, Feiring Heart Biopsy Study Group
• Journal: Cardiovascular pathology : the official journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Pathology (Cardiovasc Pathol) 2013 Sep-Oct Vol. 22 Issue 5 Pg. 324-31 ISSN: 1879-1336 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 23434196 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Biomarkers
• Serum Amyloid P-Component
• PTX3 protein
• C-Reactive Protein

Topics

• Adventitia (metabolism, pathology)
• Aged
• Aorta (metabolism, pathology)
• Arthritis, Rheumatoid (complications, metabolism, pathology)
• Biomarkers (metabolism)
• C-Reactive Protein (metabolism)
• Case-Control Studies
• Coronary Artery Disease (complications, metabolism, pathology)
• Female
• Fibrosis
• Humans
• Immunohistochemistry
• Inflammation (metabolism, pathology)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Serum Amyloid P-Component (metabolism)
• T-Lymphocytes (pathology)