Yonsei Med J.  2015 Nov;56(6):1545-1551. 10.3349/ymj.2015.56.6.1545.

Circulating Anti-Elastin Antibody Levels and Arterial Disease Characteristics: Associations with Arterial Stiffness and Atherosclerosis

• Lee SH
• Shin K
• Park S
• Kang SM
• Choi D
• Lee SH
• Lee SH

• KMID: 2345881
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2015.56.6.1545

Abstract

PURPOSE
Elastin is a major arterial structural protein, and elastin-derived peptides are related to arterial change. We previously reported on a novel assay developed using aortic elastin peptides; however, its clinical implications remain unclear. In this study, we assessed whether anti-elastin antibody titers reflect the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) or its characteristics.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We included 174 CAD patients and 171 age- and sex-matched controls. Anti-elastin antibody titers were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Parameters of arterial stiffness, including the augmentation index (AI) and heart-to-femoral pulse wave velocity (hfPWV), were measured non-invasively. The clinical and angiographic characteristics of CAD patients were also evaluated. Associations between anti-elastin levels and vascular characteristics were examined by linear regression analysis.
RESULTS
The median blood level of anti-elastin was significantly lower in the CAD group than in the controls [197 arbitrary unit (a.u.) vs. 63 a.u., p<0.001]. Levels of anti-elastin were significantly lower in men and in subjects with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, or high hfPWV. Nevertheless, anti-elastin levels were not dependent on atherothrombotic events or the angiographic severity of CAD. In a multivariate analysis, male sex (beta=-0.38, p<0.001), diabetes mellitus (beta=-0.62, p<0.001), hyperlipidemia (beta=-0.29, p<0.001), and AI (beta=-0.006, p=0.02) were ultimately identified as determinants of anti-elastin levels.
CONCLUSION
Lower levels of anti-elastin are related to CAD. The association between antibody titers and CAD is linked to arterial stiffness rather than the advancement of atherosclerosis.

Keyword

Elastin; antibody formation; vascular stiffness; coronary artery disease; atherosclerosis

MeSH Terms

Aged
Angiography
Antibodies/*blood
Atherosclerosis/*blood/immunology
Coronary Artery Disease/blood/*immunology
Elastin/*blood/immunology
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Female
Humans
Hyperlipidemias
Hypertension/complications
Male
Middle Aged
Pulse Wave Analysis
Vascular Stiffness/*immunology/physiology
Antibodies
Elastin

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Associations between anti-elastin levels and clinical characteristics. Levels of log anti-elastin were lower in CAD patients than in control subjects (A). Anti-elastin levels were also significantly lower in males (B) and subjects with hypertension (C), DM (D), or hyperlipidemia (E), compared to each subgroup's respective counterpart. CAD, coronary artery disease; DM, diabetes mellitus.

• 

  Fig. 2 Associations between anti-elastin levels and arterial stiffness or the severity of atherosclerotic CAD. Though the levels of log anti-elastin did not differ significantly among the five groups stratified according to augmentation index values (A), they were lower in subjects with higher hfPWV (B). Log anti-elastin levels were similar in the angina pectoris and myocardial infarction subgroups (C). Anti-elastin levels were also similar among subgroups with different numbers of diseased vessels (D). Subgroups classified by augmentation index or hfPWV were analyzed in total subjects (n=345), while those by clinical or angiographic severity of CAD were analyzed in CAD patients (n=171). CAD, coronary artery disease; hfPWV, heart-to-femoral pulse wave velocity.

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