Background: Activation and migration of inflammatory cells has been implicated in pathogenesis of atherosclerosis-associated conditions such as ischemic stroke and myocardial infarction. Objective: To investigate whether patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) or cerebral ischemic stroke (IS) possessed high levels of sCD40 ligand (sCD40L) and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 as a step towards validating these biomarkers for risk stratification and therapeutic interventions. Methods: sCD40L and MCP-1 levels in serum were determined by ELISA in 34 patients with AMI, 32 patients with IS, and in 24 control subjects. Results: In comparison to control subjects, mean sCD40L and MCP-1 serum levels were increased in both investigated patient cohorts (sCD40L: 7±4 for AMI, 9.06±3.47 for IS, 1.29±0.32 for controls, p<0.0001; MCP-1: 582±314 for AMI, 652.5±370 for IS, 212.9±54.2 for controls, p<0.0001). There was a substantial variability of sCD40L levels in the AMI group, while MCP-1 serum levels showed a greater variability in the IS group. No relationship was observed between both markers’ levels and atherosclerosis risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, smoking, and alcohol consumption), and they were also not related to age or gender. Conclusion: sCD40L and MCP-1 levels were increased in peripheral blood of patients with AMI and acute IS. This may suggest that in atherosclerosis-associated complications, inflammatory response share some similarities and are not organ-specific. [Egypt J Neurol Psychiat Neurosurg. 2010; 47(4): 665-672]
Key Words: Biomarkers, sCD40L, MCP-1, coronary, cerebral, infarction
Correspondence to Naglaa M. Elkhayat. Department of Neurology, Ain shams University, Egypt
Tel.: +20 122518035. Email: nag99@live.com.