Plasma soluble corin in patients with heart failure

Abstract

Background: Corin is a transmembrane protease that processes natriuretic peptides in the heart. Like many membrane proteins, corin is shed from the cell surface.

Methods and results: In this study, we obtained plasma samples from healthy controls and patients with heart failure (HF) and acute myocardial infarction. Soluble corin levels in plasma were measured by an ELISA method. In healthy adults (n=198), plasma corin levels were 690 pg/mL (SD, 260 pg/mL). The corin levels did not differ significantly among different age groups. In patients with HF (n=291), plasma corin levels were significantly lower compared with that of healthy controls (365 pg/mL [SD, 259]; P<0.001). The reduction in plasma corin levels seemed to correlate with the severity of HF. In patients of New York Heart Association classes II, III, and IV, plasma corin levels were 450 pg/mL (SD, 281 pg/mL; n=69), 377 pg/mL (SD, 270 pg/mL; n=132), and 282 pg/mL (SD, 194 pg/mL; n=90), respectively (P<0.001 class II vs class IV; P<0.05 class III vs class IV). In contrast, plasma corin levels in patients with acute myocardial infarction (n=73) were similar to that of healthy controls (678 pg/mL [SD, 285 pg/mL]; P>0.05).

Conclusions: Soluble corin was detected in human plasma. Plasma corin levels were reduced significantly in patients with HF but not in those with acute myocardial infarction. Our results indicate that corin deficiency may contribute to the pathogenesis of HF and that plasma corin may be used as a biomarker in the diagnosis of HF.

Figure 1

Plasma corin levels in controls and patients with HF and AMI. Results were from 198 healthy controls, 291 HF and 73 AMI patients. Each box represents the median and interquartile range (IQR) values. The outliers that are >1.5 times of IQR are indicated by open circles. The vertical I bars indicate the non-outlier minimum and maximum. **p<0.001 vs. control or AMI.

Figure 2

Plasma corin levels in controls and HF patients of NYHA classes II-IV. Results were from 198 normal controls, 69 HF patients of class II, 132 HF patients of class III, and 90 HF patients of class IV. Each box represents the median and IQR values. The outliers that are >1.5 and >3 times of IQR are indicated by open and filled circles, respectively. The vertical I bars indicate the non-outlier minimum and maximum. **p<0.001 vs. control; ††p<0.001 vs. IV; ‡p<0.05 vs. IV.