Plasma Cathepsin L As A Potential Biomarker Of Ischemic Heart Disease

Objective: Lysosomal cysteinly cathepsin L(CatL)is one of the most potent mammalian elastase and collagenases involved in atherosclerosis-based cardiovascular disease.We explored whether plasma CatL is associated with the prevalence of ischemic heart disease(IHD).Methods: We recruited 189 consecutive subjects who received percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)between from 2013 to 2015.178 age-matched subjects served as controls.The IHD patients were sub-grouped into those with unstable angina pectoris(UAP)and acute myocardial infarction(AMI)(called acute coronary syndrome,ACS,n=120)and those with stable angina pectoris(SAP;n=69)by symptoms and laboratory examinations.A blood sample was collected prior to PCI.Plasma CatL levels were measured in IHD patients and control subjects by using ELISA kits in duplicate.Plasma levels of high-density lipoprotein(HDL),high-sensitive C-reactive protein(hs-CRP),low-density lipoprotein(LDL),hemoglobin A1c(HbA1c)and creatinine were measured at the clinical laboratory of Yanbian University Hospital.Plasma CatL values are expressed as ng/mL.Coronary angiography was obtained prior to PCI treatment.Angiography exhibiting the maximal degree of stenosis was adapted for the quantitative coronary angiogram(QCA).Results: As compare with the controls,IHD patients had significantly higher plasma CatL levels(1.3 ± 0.5 vs.0.3 ± 0.3 ng/mL,P < 0.01),and the levels of plasma CatL levels were higher in patients with the acute coronary syndrome than in that of those patients with stable angina pectoris(1.9 ± 0.6 vs.0.8 ± 0.3 ng/mL,P < 0.001).A linear regression analysis indicates that the circulating CatL levels were positively with hs-CRP levels(r = 0.40)and inversely correlated with the HDL levels(r =-0.36).Multiple logistic regression analyses exhibits that CatL levels were independent predictors of IHD(add ratio,2.0;95% CI,1.4 to 2.6;P < 0.001).Conclusions: Our findings revealed that elevated circulating CatL levels are closely linking with the presence of IHD and that plasma cysteinly CatL serves a useful biomarker for IHD.