Extracellular ubiquitin levels are increased in coronary heart disease and associated with the severity of the disease

Scand J Clin Lab Invest. 2020 May;80(3):256-264. doi: 10.1080/00365513.2020.1728783. Epub 2020 Feb 20.

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate concentration of plasma extracellular ubiquitin (UB) in coronary heart disease (CHD) patients and its correlation with the disease severity.Methods: Levels of UB and stromal cell-derived factor-1a (SDF-1a) were measured in 60 healthy controls and 67 CHD cases. Coronary atherosclerosis was assessed with Gensini scoring system. Spearman correlation was used to evaluate the correlation between UB and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), C-reactive protein (CRP), creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB), cardiac troponin I (cTnI) or SDF-1a. The receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was established to assess the predictive value of UB.Results: Plasma UB levels were significantly higher in CHD patients than in controls (p < .0001), and the levels in those with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) were higher than stable angina pectoris (SAP) and unstable angina pectoris (UAP) groups (both p < .01). UB was also positively correlated with Gensini score, CRP, CK-MB and cTnI in CHD. ROC analysis of UB showed that the area under the curve (AUC) were 0.711 (95%CI, 0.623-0.799) and 0.778 (95%CI, 0.666-0.890) for CHD and acute coronary syndrome (ACS), respectively. Plasma SDF-1a levels were elevated in CHD patients but showed no significant correlation with UB concentration or the severity of the disease.Conclusion: Plasma UB concentration was increased in CHD and the change of UB levels may reflect the progression of CHD.

Keywords: Ubiquitin; acute coronary syndrome; atherosclerosis; coronary heart disease; molecular diagnostics.

MeSH terms

  • Acute Coronary Syndrome / blood
  • Acute Coronary Syndrome / diagnosis*
  • Acute Coronary Syndrome / genetics
  • Acute Coronary Syndrome / pathology
  • Aged
  • Angina, Stable / blood
  • Angina, Stable / diagnosis*
  • Angina, Stable / genetics
  • Angina, Stable / pathology
  • Angina, Unstable / blood
  • Angina, Unstable / diagnosis*
  • Angina, Unstable / genetics
  • Angina, Unstable / pathology
  • Biomarkers / blood
  • C-Reactive Protein / genetics
  • C-Reactive Protein / metabolism
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Chemokine CXCL12 / blood
  • Chemokine CXCL12 / genetics
  • Cholesterol, LDL / blood
  • Coronary Disease / blood
  • Coronary Disease / diagnosis*
  • Coronary Disease / genetics
  • Coronary Disease / pathology
  • Creatine Kinase, MB Form / blood
  • Creatine Kinase, MB Form / genetics
  • Female
  • Gene Expression
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Myocardial Infarction / blood
  • Myocardial Infarction / diagnosis*
  • Myocardial Infarction / genetics
  • Myocardial Infarction / pathology
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Troponin I / blood
  • Troponin I / genetics
  • Ubiquitin / blood*
  • Ubiquitin / genetics

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • CXCL12 protein, human
  • Chemokine CXCL12
  • Cholesterol, LDL
  • Troponin I
  • Ubiquitin
  • C-Reactive Protein
  • Creatine Kinase, MB Form