Prognostic value of circulating pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) and proform of eosinophil major basic protein (pro-MBP) levels in patients with chronic stable angina pectoris

Biomarkers to monitor the prognosis, disease severity, and treatment efficacy in coronary artery disease

INTRODUCTION

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is a prevalent condition characterized by the presence of atherosclerotic plaques in the coronary arteries of the heart. The global burden of CAD has increased significantly over the years, resulting in millions of deaths annually and making it the leading health-care expenditure and cause of mortality in developed countries. The lack of cost-effective strategies for monitoring the prognosis of CAD warrants a pressing need for accurate and efficient markers to assess disease severity and progression for both reducing health-care costs and improving patient outcomes.

AREA COVERED

To effectively monitor CAD, prognostic biomarkers and imaging techniques play a vital role in risk-stratified patients during acute treatment and over time. However, with over 1,000 potential markers of interest, it is crucial to identify the key markers with substantial utility in monitoring CAD progression and evaluating therapeutic interventions. This review focuses on identifying and highlighting the most relevant markers for monitoring CAD prognosis and disease severity. We searched for relevant literature using PubMed and Google Scholar.

EXPERT OPINION

By utilizing the markers discussed, health-care providers can improve patient care, optimize treatment plans, and ultimately reduce health-care costs associated with CAD management.

[Physical training integration with physiotherapeutic methods of myocardial metabolism recovery in the rehabilitation of patients after acute coronary syndrome and cardiosurgical myocardial revascularization]

Successes achieved in the treatment of patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) after acute coronary syndrome and cardiosurgical interventions require the development of new, more advanced methods for their rehabilitation. This is because of metabolic disturbances persistence in the deeply ischemic myocardium in patients with coronary heart disease even after restoration of blood flow through the coronary arteries by surgical or endovascular methods due to the development of the phenomenon of «stunning» and hibernation. The discovery of the development of their own adaptation to ischemia phenomenon opens up new possibilities in the correction of the metabolism of the ischemic myocardium, which significantly increases the efficiency of patient postoperative rehabilitation.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The scientific rationale for improved cardiac rehabilitation programs for patients after acute coronary syndrome and cardiac surgery.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

120 patients who were randomized to 3 groups (40 patients each) were examined: the main and two control, comparable in the major clinical manifestations of the disease. Improved methods of physical training with the inclusion of interval cyclic training for the first time in cardiology on treadmills and sensory tracks and therapeutic exercises in the gym (daily, 5 times a week, for a course of 10 procedures) were performed for patients of the 1st control group. Therapeutic procedures that improve metabolic processes in the ischemic myocardium were used in patients of the 2nd control group: enhanced external counterpulsation, general dry air carbon dioxide, infrared matrix laser therapy. Rehabilitation by the complex of the above physical training and factors which restored metabolic processes in the ischemic myocardium was carried out to patients of the main group. Methods had a cardioprotective effect and increase myocardial adaptation to ischemia.

RESULTS

The greatest anti-ischemic, antianginal, antihypoxic effects were achieved in patients of the main group compared with the control groups. What may be due to the correction of metabolic disorders and the development of cardioprotection of ischemic myocardium. The consequence is a significant increase in the rehabilitation effect of improved cardiovascular training.

CONCLUSION

The achieved result is due to the integration of improved cardiac training techniques and a procedure package aimed at cardioprotection and metabolic myocardium adaptation to ischemia, which included enhanced external counterpulsation, general dry air carbon dioxide and infrared matrix laser therapy.

Pregnancy Associated Plasma Protein-A as a Cardiovascular Risk Marker in Patients with Stable Coronary Heart Disease During 10 Years Follow-Up-A CLARICOR Trial Sub-Study

Elevated pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) is associated with mortality in acute coronary syndromes. Few studies have assessed PAPP-A in stable coronary artery disease (CAD) and results are conflicting. We assessed the 10-year prognostic relevance of PAPP-A levels in stable CAD. The CLARICOR trial was a randomized controlled clinical trial including outpatients with stable CAD, randomized to clarithromycin versus placebo. The placebo group constituted our discovery cohort (n = 1.996) and the clarithromycin group the replication cohort (n = 1.975). The composite primary outcome was first occurrence of cardiovascular event or death. In the discovery cohort, incidence rates (IR) for the composite outcome were higher in those with elevated PAPP-A (IR 12.72, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 11.0-14.7 events/100 years) compared to lower PAPP-A (IR 8.78, 8.25-9.34), with comparable results in the replication cohort. Elevated PAPP-A was associated with increased risk of the composite outcome in both cohorts (discovery Hazard Ratio (HR) 1.45, 95% CI 1.24-1.70; replication HR 1.29, 95% CI 1.10-1.52). In models adjusted for established risk factors, these trends were attenuated. Elevated PAPP-A was associated with higher all-cause mortality in both cohorts. We conclude that elevated PAPP-A levels are associated with increased long-term mortality in stable CAD, but do not improve long-term prediction of death or cardiovascular events when added to established predictors.

Pregnancy associated plasma protein-A as a prognostic biomarker of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events in patients presenting with chest pain: a systematic review

AIM

Novel biomarkers have been proposed for identification of patients at greater risk of future adverse events among those presenting with chest pain. In this review, we aim to elucidate the ability of pregnancy associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) to predict mortality and other cardiovascular events in this patient population.

METHODS

A literature search of the electronic databases Medline, Scopus, Cochrane Library and ClinicalTrials.gov was performed in order to identify studies investigating the utility of PAPP-A to predict mortality and adverse cardiovascular events in patients with chest pain.

RESULTS

Eight studies met our inclusion criteria. Five of these studies pertained to patients with confirmed ischemic chest pain, while the rest included patients presenting with chest pain possibly due to acute coronary syndrome, irrespectively of the underlying cause. Although the results for long-term events were inconclusive in both groups of patients, higher PAPP-A concentrations were found to be a significant predictor of short-term adverse events in patients with confirmed ischemic chest pain.

CONCLUSIONS

PAPP-A appears to be a potentially useful biomarker for short-term risk stratification of patients presenting with chest pain of ischemic origin. However, there is an eminent need for more standardized clinical studies investigating the prognostic value of this biomarker.

Pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A and the vulnerable plaque

For more than a decade, pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) has been examined for its relation to acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and the vulnerable plaque. This review summarizes the current knowledge of plasma PAPP-A in relation to nonpregnant individuals focusing on patients with ACS, discusses its use as a possible biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis in ACS, briefly describes the challenges in different assay technologies and describes the effect of heparin administration on PAPP-A concentrations in plasma.

Pregnancy-associated plasma protein A predicts adverse vascular events in patients with coronary heart disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Prospective studies about the association between elevated circulating pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) and adverse vascular events in patients with coronary heart diseases (CHD) are inconsistent. We performed a meta-analysis to clarify this issue.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We identified prospective studies by searching MEDLINE. The vascular outcomes included all-cause mortality, combination of all-cause mortality and non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), and combined cardiovascular events. Prospective studies providing multivariable adjusted relative risks (RRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of pre-mentioned outcomes were included. A random-effects model was used to calculate the pooled RRs. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were used to explore the potential sources of heterogeneity or modifiable factors.

RESULTS

Fourteen studies with a total of 12 830 participants were included. Elevated PAPP-A level was associated with all-cause mortality (pooled RR 1.74, 95% CI: 1.45 to 2.09, p < 0.001), combined all-cause mortality and non-fatal MI (RR 1.59, 95% CI: 1.37 to 1.85, p < 0.001) and combined cardiovascular events (RR 1.50, 95% CI: 1.22 to 1.85, p < 0.001). There was no significant heterogeneity. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses showed that the positive association was not affected by follow-up term, CHD type, different assay methods of PAPP-A, or studies with less than 5 adjusted variables.

CONCLUSIONS

Elevated serum PAPP-A level is associated with adverse vascular outcomes in patients with CHD.

Pathophysiological roles and clinical importance of biomarkers in acute coronary syndrome

Early diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is important to guide appropriate therapy at a time when it is most likely to be of value. Accurate prognostic and risk stratification will facilitate high-risk patients to have early advanced diagnostic investigations and early appropriate interventions in a cost-effective and efficient manner, while those patients at low risk of ACS complications do not need such costly diagnostic tests and unnecessary hospital admission. Recent investigations have demonstrated that elevation of biomarkers upstream from acute-phase biomarkers, biomarkers of plaque destabilization and rupture, biomarkers of myocardial ischemia, necrosis, and dysfunction may provide an earlier assessment of patient risk and identify patients with higher risk of having an adverse event. This review provides an overview of the pathophysiology and clinical characteristics of several well-established biomarkers as well as emerging biomarkers that may have potential clinical utility in patients with ACS. Such emerging biomarkers hold promise and need to be more thoroughly evaluated before utilization in routine clinical practice.

PAPP-A in cardiac and non-cardiac conditions

Pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A), a newly discovered member of insulin like growth factors (IGFs) axis, has been reported to be a biomarker in both cardiac and non-cardiac conditions. PAPP-A mainly acts as a protease cleaving IGF inhibitors - IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs), thereby setting free IGFs. In cardiac conditions, PAPP-A plays an important role in progressive atherosclerosis. As a biomarker, PAPP-A is not only sensitive, specific and early for diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome, but also an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality or combined cardiovascular events. In non-cardiac conditions, PAPP-A is a new anti-aging target. PAPP-A knock out (KO) mice have a prolonged lifespan than the wild type. In addition, PAPP-A is also a biomarker associated with malignant cancer and end stage renal disease.

Pregnancy-associated plasma protein A values in patients with stable cardiovascular disease: use of a new monoclonal antibody-based assay

BACKGROUND

PAPP-A is promising in improving risk stratification and invasive treatment decisions in stable cardiovascular patients. We evaluated the prognostic value of pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) measured by a novel assay in stable cardiovascular patients.

METHODS

We investigated 228 stable cardiovascular outpatients. Blood was drawn for PAPP-A measurement after echocardiography and ergometry prior to heart catheterization. Angiographically we determined severity as well as qualitative characteristics suspect for vulnerability of coronary lesions. After 1108±297 days, follow-up information was obtained by questionnaire mailings and interviews by phone.

RESULTS

104 patients had coronary stenosis≥70%, 75 had B-type lesions≥50%, 46 showed complex lesions, and 68 were suspected to have vulnerable lesions. Median PAPP-A was 1.76 (interquartile range 1.21, 2.63) μIU/ml in the entire cohort. PAPP-A concentrations did not differ in dependence on coronary artery findings. A cutpoint of 2.7 μIU/ml was derived from receiver-operator characteristics for outcome measures. For this cutoff, Cox proportional hazard models with 19 further clinical variables showed that PAPP-A was predictive for all-cause death (HR 4.73, 95% CI 1.46-15.31, p=0.01), all-cause death or nonfatal infarction (HR 4.01, 95% CI 1.58-10.13, p=0.003) and all-cause death, nonfatal myocardial infarction or hospitalization (HR 1.96, 95% CI 1.03-3.70, p=0.04). The predictive value of PAPP-A did not change substantially after correction for values of cardiac troponin, using a highly sensitive cardiac troponin I research assay.

CONCLUSIONS

PAPP-A, measured by a new, monoclonal antibody-based assay is a promising prognostic marker in patients with stable cardiovascular disease and an indication for heart catheterization.

Leukocyte counts, myeloperoxidase, and pregnancy-associated plasma protein a as biomarkers for cardiovascular disease: towards a multi-biomarker approach

We evaluated leukocyte counts and levels of CRP, fibrinogen, MPO, and PAPP-A in patients with stable and unstable angina pectoris, acute myocardial infarction, and healthy controls. All biomarkers were analyzed again after 6 months. Leukocyte counts and concentrations of fibrinogen, CRP, MPO, and PAPP-A were significantly increased in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Leukocyte counts and concentrations of MPO were significantly increased in patients with unstable angina pectoris compared with controls. After 6 months, leukocyte counts and MPO concentrations were still increased in patients with acute myocardial infarction when compared to controls. Discriminant analysis showed that leukocyte counts, MPO, and PAPP-A concentrations classified study group designation for acute coronary events correctly in 83% of the cases. In conclusion, combined assessment of leukocyte counts, MPO, and PAPP-A was able to correctly classify acute coronary events, suggesting that this could be a promising panel for a multibiomarker approach to assess cardiovascular risk.

Pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A, a marker for outcome in patients suspected for acute coronary syndrome

OBJECTIVES

To examine if pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) in patients with chest pain, could identify patients at risk for death or myocardial infarction.

DESIGN AND METHODS

Patients admitted with chest pain and both normal ECG and normal biomarkers were evaluated by serial measurement of PAPP-A. Main outcome measures were mortality and non-fatal myocardial infarction.

RESULTS

Median age of patients included (415) was 67years and 43% were women. The risk of death or non-fatal myocardial infarction after 3 months was 15% in the highest quartile of circulating PAPP-A compared with 3% in the lowest quartile (relative risk 3.7, p<0.01). Corresponding numbers after 1 year were 24% and 10% (relative risk 2.4, p=0.01).

CONCLUSION

In patients admitted with chest pain and both normal ECG and normal biomarkers PAPP-A seems to be valuable for predicting patients at high risk of death or non-fatal myocardial infarction.

Pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A is an independent short-time predictor of mortality in patients on maintenance haemodialysis

AIMS

Mortality of maintenance haemodialysis (HD) patients is very high due to polymorbidity, mostly from metabolic and cardiovascular disease. In order to identify patients with high risk for life-threatening complications, reliable prognostic markers would be helpful. Pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) has been shown to predict cardiovascular events and death in patients with stable coronary artery disease as well as in acute coronary syndrome in patients with normal renal function. It was the aim of this study to evaluate PAPP-A as a marker for death in patients on maintenance HD.

METHODS AND RESULTS

PAPP-A serum levels were measured in 170 patients participating in the monitor! trial, a prospective dynamic dialysis cohort multicenter study in Switzerland. Patients were followed up for a median time of 17 months after measuring PAPP-A, and evaluated for death of any cause. Survivors and non-survivors were compared with regard to baseline PAPP-A concentrations. A multivariate logistic regression analysis for death was performed including PAPP-A, age, sex, number of comorbidities, dialysis vintage, Kt/V, IL-6, C-reactive protein, parathyroid hormone (PTH), Ca x PO(4) product, and total serum cholesterol. A cut-off value for PAPP-A was calculated for discrimination between patients with low and high mortality risk, respectively. A total of 23 deaths occurred during follow-up, equalling an incidence rate of 0.1. Baseline median PAPP-A levels were 40% higher in non-survivors vs. survivors (P = 0.023). In a multivariate analysis, only PAPP-A, age, and Ca x PO(4) product were independent predictors of mortality. A cut-off value of 24 mIU/L discriminates significantly (P = 0.015) between patients at low or high risk for death with a negative predictive value of 91%.

CONCLUSION

PAPP-A is a novel and independent short-time predictor of mortality in a maintenance HD population. The pathogenetic relevance of PAPP-A, particularly in the development of cardiovascular disease, remains to be further elucidated.

PAPP-A as a marker of increased long-term risk in patients with chest pain

OBJECTIVES

Long-term risk stratification in patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) is possible by measuring cardiac troponin (cTn). The present study examined whether PAPP-A measured in an emergency department (ED) chest pain population in association with conventional and novel high sensitivity cTn (hs-cTnI) assays can predict long-term mortality.

METHODS

In 320 patients with cTn measurements the earliest heparinized plasma PAPP-A concentration after presentation was used for risk stratification for death by Kaplan-Meier and Cox analyses. Subgroup analyses using the earliest PAPP-A concentrations were also performed in a cohort of subjects with presentation cTnI < or = 99th percentile but with significantly changing cardiac troponin concentrations as measured by the AccuTnI assay and the hs-cTnI assay (n=45 and 120 subjects, respectively).

RESULTS

Subjects with PAPP-A concentrations in the highest tertile were at higher risk for death (HR > 2.00; p < or = 0.05 at 2 years) even after adjusting for cTnI at presentation. In the cohort with cTnI < or = 99th percentile but with changing hs-cTnI concentrations, subjects in the top PAPP-A tertile had a higher probability for death (p=0.02).

CONCLUSION

Early measurement of PAPP-A may identify chest pain patients at higher risk for long-term death. Additional prospective ACS studies are required to fully elucidate PAPP-A's role.

Pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) and cardiovascular risk

The search for markers to improve risk prediction for individuals at risk of developing serious cardiovascular events is ongoing. New markers of coronary artery disease progression have been identified in recent years, among which, circulating levels of pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) offer an interesting profile. PAPP-A may play a role in the development of atherosclerotic lesions and represent also a marker of atheromatous plaque instability and extent of cardiovascular disease. PAPP-A has been shown to be a marker of adverse outcome in both acute coronary syndrome and stable coronary disease patients. The present article reviews currently available evidence supporting a role for PAPP-A as a marker of cardiovascular risk and discusses some of the pitfalls that may limit its use in clinical practice.