Plasma levels of cystatin-C and mannose binding protein are not associated with risk of developing systemic atherosclerosis.

Cystatin-C, a cysteine protease inhibitor, and mannose binding lectin, an innate defense protein involved in microbial clearance, have both been hypothesized to mediate atherosclerotic plaque progression. Prospective data evaluating whether levels of these proteins are associated with incident cardiovascular disease are sparse. Employing a prospective, nested, case-control study design, baseline levels of cystatin-C and mannose binding protein were evaluated among 133 apparently healthy men who subsequently developed symptomatic peripheral arterial disease (cases) and among 133 age- and smoking-matched controls who remained free of reported vascular disease during 5 years of follow-up. Overall, median baseline levels of cystatin-C were virtually identical among case and control subjects (0.83 mg/l, p = 0.84), whereas median baseline levels of mannose binding protein among cases and controls were 2.32 mg/l and 2.20 mg/l respectively (p = 0.69). No evidence of association was found between either cystatin-C or mannose binding protein and the development of peripheral arterial disease in analyses evaluating for linear trends or for threshold effects (all p-values > 0.05). In contrast with prior retrospective and cross-sectional studies, no evidence was found that baseline levels of cystatin-C or mannose binding protein are associated with an increased risk of future arterial disease.