Chemokine Levels Predict Cardiac Patient Mortality

A new study reported that low levels of a protein found in the blood are a predictor of cardiac death in patients with coronary artery disease.

Researchers from the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center (NY, USA) and colleagues measured baseline RANTES (regulated upon activation, normal T-cell expressed, and secreted) chemokine levels in 389 male patients at the Bronx Veterans Affairs Medical Center (New York, NY, USA). The patients were followed prospectively for the occurrence of cardiac mortality and myocardial infarction (MI). Follow-up data at 24 months were available for 97% of patients.

The results showed that at 24 months the survival rate was 87.3% in the lower third of RANTES values, compared with 94% in the upper two-thirds. Furthermore, when patients were risk-stratified into those with and without an acute coronary syndrome, RANTES was an independent predictor of both cardiac mortality and MI in those without an acute coronary syndrome. RANTES was also an independent predictor of cardiac mortality in the diabetic subset. The study was published in the January 2007 issue of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.

"Low baseline plasma RANTES levels are an independent predictor of cardiac mortality,” concluded lead author Erdal Cavusoglu, M.D., from SUNY, and colleagues. The authors propose several potential explanations for this somewhat paradoxical observation, including potential upregulation of the RANTES receptor, which is known for its proatherosclerotic properties. Alternatively, lower levels of RANTES may simply reflect greater deposition of RANTES on atherosclerotic arteries with less circulating levels available for measurement by routine testing.

Chemokines are naturally occurring human proteins produced by a variety of cell types (including blood platelets that have been implicated in atherosclerosis) that signal white blood cells to move in a specific direction, such as to an infection site.



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SUNY Downstate Medical Center