Association of systemic inflammation markers with the presence and extent of coronary artery calcification

BackgroundCoronary artery calcification (CAC) is a marker for the presence and extent of coronary atherosclerotic plaques and can be detected non-invasively by multi-detector row CT (MDCT). Well known predictors of CAC are age, gender, and the classical atherogenic risk factors. CAC is associated with atherosclerotic plaque burden, but it is still elusive if atherosclerosis-relevant cytokines and chemokines are also associated with CAC.MethodsWe conducted a clinical study among 455 consecutive individuals who underwent coronary calcium assessment performed by MDCT. Before MDCT, blood was drawn and subsequently analyzed for 20 different atherosclerosis-relevant cytokines and chemokines using a Luminex-laser-based fluorescence analysis.ResultsUsing univariate analyses, CAC patients revealed significantly higher levels of the chemokines IP-10 (P = 0.047) and eotaxin (P = 0.031) as compared to non-CAC patients. In multivariate analyses using common thresholds for calcium burden, the three cytokines interleukin-6 (P = 0.028), interleukin-8 (P = 0.009), and interleukin-13 (P = 0.024) were associated with high coronary calcium levels after adjustment for classical variables and risk factors.ConclusionsIn a large group of individuals with atypical chest pain and a low to intermediate likelihood for coronary artery disease elevated plasma levels of IL-6 and reduced levels of IL-8 and IL-13 were predictive for distinct coronary artery calcification. These findings support a specific role of these cytokines in coronary calcification.

► Coronary artery calcification is a marker for coronary atherosclerotic plaques.
► Coronary calcium was assessed by CT in 455 individuals with atypical chest pain.
► The CT findings were correlated with blood fluorescence analyses of 20 cytokines.
► Three biomarkers (IL-6, IL-8, IL-13) predicted high coronary calcium levels.