Increased Leukocyte Rho-kinase (ROCK) Activity In A Chinese Population With Acute Coronary Syndrome

Background: Recent studies have demonstrated that ROCK may be involved in the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis and vasospasm in both animals and humans. However, it is not known whether ROCK activity is increased in the acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients. This study tests the activity of ROCK increases in patients with ACS.Methods: We enrolled 21 Chinese patients with ACS (12 men, mean age 58.0±8.0) and 20 age- and sex-matched control subjects (10 men, mean age 55.0±6.0) to obtain their blood samples and to record their demographics. Peripheral leukocyte ROCK activity was determined by Western blot analysis of leukocyte lysates and expressed as the ratio between phospho-Thr696 in the myosin-binding subunit (P-MBS) of myosin phosphatase and myosin-binding subunit (MBS) in each case and control. ROCK activities in patients were compared to control subjects using unpaired student's t test.Results: Compared with the control subjects, ROCK activity was significantly increased in ACS patients (0.69±0.07 vs. 0.45±0.04, P<0.001). There was no apparent correlation between the lipid levels (total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) and ROCK activity (r=0.17, P>0.05; r=0.08, P>0.05; respectively). However, there was a positively correlation between mean arterial pressure (MAP) and ROCK activity (r=0.58; P<0.01).Conclusions: ROCK activity is increased in ACS patients, which indicate that ROCK activity may be a novel serological marker of ACS. Inhibition ROCK activity maybe an important therapeutic strategy in clinic.