Role of novel biomarkers of inflammation in patients with stable coronary heart disease.

Atherosclerosis is a dynamic chronic inflammatory process, and some inflammatory biomarkers have roles in this process. The levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients with chronic stable coronary heart disease (CHD) have not been investigated well, and the levels of macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and interleukin-3 (IL-3) in patients with chronic stable CHD and the effects of these cytokines on atherogenesis are not known. To determine whether new inflammatory biomarkers have roles in atherosclerosis, the authors measured the levels of CRP, M-CSF, and IL-3 in patients with chronic stable CHD and in healthy controls. They measured plasma CRP concentrations by using a highly sensitive CRP reagent with immunonephelometric method, and plasma M-CSF and IL-3 concentrations with the help of a commercial enzyme-linked immunoassay test in 31 patients with chronic stable CHD documented by coronary angiography and in 22 age-matched healthy control subjects documented by coronary angiography. Mean plasma CRP, M-CSF, and IL-3 concentrations in patients with chronic stable CHD were significantly higher than those in controls (8.2 vs 4.6 mg/L, 195.3 vs 28.9 pg/mL, 173 vs 118 ng/mL, respectively, ppi.05). CRP, M-CSF, and IL-3 were all increased in patients with chronic stable CHD relative to controls. These findings suggest that these are new inflammatory biomarkers that may have important roles in the development of atherosclerotic lesions.