Associations between Circulating VEGFR2-Neutrophils and Carotid Plaque Burden in Patients Aged 40-64 without Established Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease.

BACKGROUND

Neutrophils expressing vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) represent a distinct subtype of neutrophils with proangiogenic properties. The purpose of this study was to identify the interrelations between circulating CD16CD11bCD62LCXCR2VEGFR2-neutrophils and indicators of carotid plaque burden in patients without atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD).

METHODS

The study included 145 patients, 51.7% men and 48.3% women, median age-49.0 years. All patients underwent carotid duplex ultrasound scanning. The maximal carotid plaque thickness was used as an indicator of carotid plaque burden. Also, carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and femoral IMT were measured. The phenotyping of neutrophil subpopulations was executed by the flow cytometry via the Navios 6/2. The subpopulation of VEGFR2-neutrophils accounted for about 5% of the total pool of circulating neutrophils. A decrease in VEGFR2-neutrophils with an increase in carotid plaque burden was statistically significant ( = 0.036). A decrease in VEGFR2-neutrophils < 4.52% allowed to predict the presence of plaque with a maximum height > 2.1 mm (Q4), with sensitivity of 78.9% and specificity of 61.5% (AUC 0.693; 95% CI 0.575-0.811; = 0.007). Inverse correlations were established between the carotid and femoral IMT and the absolute and relative number of VEGFR2-neutrophils ( < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

In patients aged 40-64 years without established ASCVD, with an increase in indicators of the carotid plaque burden, a significant decrease in the proportion of circulating VEGFR2-neutrophils was noticed. A decrease in the relative number of VEGFR2-neutrophils of less than 4.52% made it possible to predict the presence of extent carotid atherosclerosis with sensitivity of 78.9% and specificity of 61.5%.