Role of Interleukin-18 and the Thrombus Precursor Protein in Coronary Artery Disease.

Background Coronary failure is the leading cause of death worldwide and identifying patients at higher risk for coronary artery disease (CAD) is a challenge. Objectives To test the biomarkers interleukin 18 (IL-18) and thrombus precursor protein (TpP), involved in atherogenesis, to aid in the early assessment of CAD. Methods This was a cross-sectional cohort of 119 patients, stratified into three groups: Group I - acute coronary syndrome (39); Group II - chronic CAD (40) and Group III - control, without coronary lesion, but who might have risk factors for CAD (40). Statistical analysis was performed using the statistical program SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) for Windows ,version 17.0 of 2008. The significance level was set at 0.05 or 5% (p <0.05), with a 95% confidence interval. Chi-square test (χ2), Analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Tukey's test were used. Results The mean age was 60.36 ± 9.64 years; there was a prevalence of females in Group III (65.0% p = 0.002), but without statistical significance for the means of IL-18 and TpP. The means of IL-18 and TpP were increased in Group I when compared to the other groups; IL-18 = 1325.44 ± 1860.13 ng/dL, p = 0.002; TpP = 35.86 ± 28.36 µg / mL, p <0.001). When compared two-by-two, it was observed that Group I had higher mean IL-18 and TpP values than Group II (IL-18 = 353.81 ± 273.65 ng / dL; TpP = 25.66 ± 12, 17 µg / mL) and Group III (IL-18 = 633.25 ± 993.93 ng / dL; TpP = 18.00 ± 8.45 µg / mL). Conclusion There was an increase in these biomarkers in acute CAD, suggesting a relationship with the atherosclerotic plaque instability process, but not with the chronic phase. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2020; 114(4):692-698).