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Review
. 2020 Nov 7:4:100120.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajpc.2020.100120. eCollection 2020 Dec.

GlycA measured by NMR spectroscopy is associated with disease activity and cardiovascular disease risk in chronic inflammatory diseases

Nehal N Mehta  1 , Amit K Dey  1 , Reethika Maddineni  1 , William E Kraus  2 , Kim M Huffman  3
Affiliations
Review

GlycA measured by NMR spectroscopy is associated with disease activity and cardiovascular disease risk in chronic inflammatory diseases

Nehal N Mehta et al. Am J Prev Cardiol. .

Abstract

GlycA is a biomarker of systemic inflammation, quantifying both the protein concentrations and glycosylation states of several acute phase proteins. GlycA has been shown to be associated with both subclinical atherosclerosis and with cardiovascular disease (CVD). GlycA levels are higher in acute and chronic inflammation. During ongoing systemic inflammatory processes, GlycA specific acute phase reactants and proteins undergo circulating concentration and glycosylation pattern changes, and these alterations are reflected in the GlycA NMR signal. Additionally, levels associate with ongoing disease severity in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and psoriasis thus capturing active inflammation. Furthermore, in these disease states, GlycA is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) independent of traditional risk factors including C-reactive protein (CRP). Finally, GlycA levels decrease with exercise, weight loss, and systemic anti-inflammatory agents. Therefore, GlycA appears to be a promising new composite biomarker of active systemic inflammation including assessing CVD risk in patients with inflammatory diseases.

Keywords: Atherosclerosis; Autoimmune disease; Cardiovascular disease risk; GlycA.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Image of the GlycA nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signal at approximately 2.0 ​ppm in the NMR spectrum from plasma or serum. Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; BSA, body surface area; CAC, coronary artery calcium; CAD, coronary artery disease; CCTA, coronary computed tomographic angiography; CPB, coronary plaque burden; CRP, C-reactive protein; CT, computed tomography; CV, cardiovascular; DAS, disease activity score; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; 18-FDG PET/CTA, 18-F fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography computed tomography angiography; MI, myocardial infarction; PASI, psoriasis area severity index; SLEDAI, systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index; SLICC, systemic lupus international collaborating committee.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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