Serum adipocyte fatty acid binding proteins and adiponectin in patients with coronary artery disease: the significance of A-FABP/adiponectin ratio.

BACKGROUND

Adipocyte fatty acid binding protein (A-FABP) and adiponectin have been shown to play important roles in atherosclerosis. We investigated serum A-FABP, adiponectin and A-FABP/adiponectin ratio in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).

METHODS

A total of 340 subjects who underwent coronary angiography (CAG) were classified into CAD group (n=211) and non-CAD group (n=129) according to the CAG. Serum A-FABP and adiponectin concentrations were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.

RESULTS

CAD patients tend to have higher A-FABP concentrations than non-CAD subjects, the difference is significant only between female CAD patients and controls [22.8 (18.6-25.7) ng/ml vs 18.1 (15.6-21.8) ng/ml, P=0.008]. Serum A-FABP concentration was independently associated with Gensini scores in female subjects (P=0.018). CAD patients have significant higher serum A-FABP/adiponectin ratio [1.51 ± 0.05 vs 0.89 ± 0.03 ng/μg, P<0.01] than controls in both genders.

CONCLUSIONS

Serum A-FABP is associated with CAD more closely in female than in male. The A-FABP/adiponectin ratio may be a more useful indicator for CAD than A-FABP or adiponectin alone.