Enhanced circulating soluble LR11 in patients with coronary organic stenosis.

LR11, an LDL receptor family member, is expressed in intimal smooth muscle cells. It was found that the soluble form of LR11 (sLR11) is detected in serum, and the circulating sLR11 levels are positively correlated with intima-media thickness of carotid arteries in dyslipidemic subjects. To clarify the significance of serum sLR11, the circulating sLR11 levels in patients with organic coronary stenosis and the contributing risk factors for them were studied. The subjects, 150 patients with symptoms of coronary artery disease, underwent coronary angiographic examination, and were divided into sex- and age-matched two groups; one is organic coronary stenosis group (OCS) and the other is normal coronary group (NC). Serum sLR11 levels were significantly higher in OCS than in NC (4.9+/-2.7 U vs 3.6+/-1.8 U, p<0.05). Multivariate regression analysis showed that circulating sLR11 is independent contributing factor for the OCS, as well as diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia. Among various coronary risk factors for sLR11 level, HbA1c showed the highest correlation coefficient (p<0.01). These results suggest that the circulating sLR11 might reflect coronary organic stenosis, and that hyperglycemic condition might be promoting factor for expression of LR11 in intimal smooth muscle cells. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.