Soluble LR11 is a novel biomarker for vascular lesions late after Kawasaki disease

•Soluble LR11 (sLR11) is a novel biomarker for vascular lesions.•sLR11 levels in Kawasaki disease patients with coronary artery lesions are high.•Serum sLR11 could be a biomarker for vascular lesions late after Kawasaki disease.

ObjectiveCoronary artery lesions (CALs) and a risk for early onset of atherosclerosis are major concerns following Kawasaki disease (KD). Intimal smooth muscle cells (SMCs) have an important role in vascular lesions in KD. It is known that soluble LR11 (sLR11) is a novel biomarker for vascular lesions and LR11 is markedly expressed in intimal SMCs in atherosclerotic lesions. In this study, we hypothesized that sLR11 reflects the presence of vascular lesions late after KD.MethodsTwenty-three age-matched controls (group 1) and 59 patients with a history of KD were enrolled; 36 with KD had normal coronary arteries or regressed aneurysms (group 2), and 23 had CALs (group 3).ResultsSerum sLR11 levels in group 3 (median, interquartile range (IQR): 11.1 ng/mL, 9.3-13.9 ng/mL) were significantly higher than those in groups 1 (8.4 ng/mL, 7.1-10.2 ng/mL, p < 0.001) and 2 (9.0 ng/mL, 7.7-10.1 ng/mL, p < 0.01). Levels of sLR11 were positively correlated with levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (r = 0.480, p < 0.01) and lipoprotein (a) (r = 0.486, p < 0.01).ConclusionThese findings suggest that sLR11 reflects the development of vascular lesions in patients with serious CALs.