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. 2023 Oct;120(11):e20230395.
doi: 10.36660/abc.20230395.

Relationship between Increased Plasma Levels of Legumain and Properties of Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaque

[Article in English, Portuguese]
Affiliations

Relationship between Increased Plasma Levels of Legumain and Properties of Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaque

[Article in English, Portuguese]
Yunpeng Deng et al. Arq Bras Cardiol. 2023 Oct.

Abstract

Background: Many clinical studies have confirmed that legumain is closely related to atherosclerosis. Unfortunately, different conclusions have been reached, and analyses and studies on atherosclerotic plaque characteristics in patients with increased plasma levels of legumain are still lacking.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the correlation between legumain and coronary atherosclerotic plaque characteristics.

Methods: A total of 81 patients with coronary atherosclerotic heart disease (CHD), including 43 patients with unstable angina (UA) and 38 patients with stable angina (SA), were screened by coronary angiography. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) was performed to evaluate the characteristics of coronary atherosclerotic plaques, and plasma legumain levels were also measured. Values of p < 0.05 were considered significant.

Results: Legumain concentration was significantly higher in the two CHD subgroups than in the control group (all p<0.001). Legumain concentrations in the UA group were significantly higher than in the SA group (p=0.001). The plaque area, remodeling index (RI), and eccentricity index (EI) in the UA group were significantly higher than those in the SA group (p<0.001, p=0.001, p=0.001, respectively). There was a significant positive correlation between legumain levels and RI and EI in both UA and SA patients (all p<0.05).

Conclusions: High plasma levels of legumain were closely related to the occurrence and severity of CHD, and the lesions tended to be unstable. Legumain is expected to be a potential inflammatory biomarker for the diagnosis of CHD and the early identification of unstable coronary lesions.

Fundamento: Muitos estudos clínicos confirmaram que a legumain está intimamente relacionada à aterosclerose. Infelizmente, chegaram-se a conclusões diferentes e ainda faltam análises e estudos sobre as características da placa aterosclerótica em pacientes com níveis plasmáticos aumentados de legumain.

Objetivos: Este estudo teve como objetivo investigar a correlação entre as características da legumain e da placa aterosclerótica coronariana.

Métodos: Um total de 81 pacientes com doença cardíaca aterosclerótica coronariana (DCAC), incluindo 43 pacientes com angina instável (AI) e 38 pacientes com angina estável (AE), foram examinados por angiografia coronária. Foi realizado ultrassom intravascular (IVUS) para avaliar as características das placas ateroscleróticas coronarianas, e os níveis plasmáticos de legumain também foram medidos. Valores de p < 0,05 foram considerados significativos.

Resultados: A concentração de legumain foi significativamente maior nos dois subgrupos de doença coronariana do que no grupo controle (todos p<0,001). As concentrações de legumain no grupo AI foram significativamente maiores do que no grupo SA (p=0,001). A área de placa, o índice de remodelamento (IR) e o índice de excentricidade (IE) no grupo AI foram significativamente maiores do que no grupo AE (p<0,001, p=0,001, p=0,001, respectivamente). Houve uma correlação positiva significativa entre os níveis de legumain e IR e IE em pacientes com AI e AE (todos p<0,05).

Conclusões: Níveis plasmáticos elevados de legumain estavam intimamente relacionados com a ocorrência e gravidade da doença coronariana, e as lesões tendiam a ser instáveis. Espera-se que a legumain seja um potencial biomarcador inflamatório para o diagnóstico de doença coronariana e a identificação precoce de lesões coronárias instáveis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Potencial conflito de interesse

Não há conflito com o presente artigo

Figures

None
: Relação entre Níveis Plasmáticos Aumentados de Legumain e Propriedades da Placa Aterosclerótica Coronária
Figura 1
Figura 1. – Comparações dos níveis de legumain entre os três grupos.
Figura 2
Figura 2. – Correlações da concentração de legumain com índice de remodelamento (A,B) índice de excentricidade (C,D) nos grupos AE e AI. AE: angina estável; AI: angina instável.
Figura 3
Figura 3. – Curvas ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) da legumain para diagnóstico de AI. A área sob a curva da legumain foi de 0,789 (intervalo de confiança [IC] de 95%, 0,689–0,888, p<0,001).
None
: Relationship between Increased Plasma Levels of Legumain and Properties of Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaque
Figure 1
Figure 1. – Comparisons of the legumain levels among the three groups.
Figure 2
Figure 2. – Correlations of legumain concentration with remodeling index (A,B), eccentricity index (C,D) in SA and UA groups. SA: stable angina; UA: unstable angina.
Figure 3
Figure 3. – Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of legumain for diagnosing UA. The area under the curve of legumain was 0.789 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.689–0.888, p<0.001).

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