Coggi, D. et al. (2021) Relationship between circulating PCSK9 and markers of subclinical atherosclerosis—the IMPROVE study. Biomedicines, 9(7), 841. (doi: 10.3390/biomedicines9070841) (PMCID:PMC8301759)
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Abstract
(1) Background and purpose: circulating proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is one of the key regulators of cholesterol metabolism. Despite this, its role as a player in atherosclerosis development is still matter of debate. Here, we investigated the relationships between this protein and several markers of subclinical atherosclerosis. (2) Methods: the IMPROVE study enrolled 3703 European subjects (54–79 years; 48% men; with ≥3 vascular risk factors), asymptomatic for cardiovascular diseases. PCSK9 levels were measured by ELISA. B-mode ultrasound was used to measure markers of carotid subclinical atherosclerosis. (3) Results: in the crude analysis, PCSK9 levels were associated with several baseline measures of carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) (all p 0.0001); with cIMT change over time (Fastest-IMTmax-progr) (p = 0.01); with inter-adventitia common carotid artery diameter (ICCAD) (p 0.0001); and with the echolucency (Grey Scale Median; GSM) of both carotid plaque and plaque-free common carotid IMT (both p 0.0001). However, after adjustment for age, sex, latitude, and pharmacological treatment, all the afore-mentioned correlations were no longer statistically significant. The lack of correlation was also observed after stratification for sex, latitude, and pharmacological treatments. (4) Conclusions: in subjects who are asymptomatic for cardiovascular diseases, PCSK9 plasma levels do not correlate with vascular damage and/or subclinical atherosclerosis of extracranial carotid arteries.
Item Type: | Articles |
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Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Strawbridge, Dr Rona |
Creator Roles: | |
Authors: | Coggi, D., Frigerio, B., Bonomi, A., Ruscica, M., Ferri, N., Sansaro, D., Ravani, A., Ferrante, P., Damigella, M., Veglia, F., Capra, N., Lupo, M. G., Macchi, C., Savonen, K., Silveira, A., Kurl, S., Giral, P., Pirro, M., Strawbridge, R. J., Gigante, B., Smit, A. J., Tremoli, E., Amato, M., and Baldassarre, D. |
College/School: | College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Mental Health and Wellbeing |
Journal Name: | Biomedicines |
Publisher: | MDPI |
ISSN: | 2227-9059 |
ISSN (Online): | 2227-9059 |
Published Online: | 19 July 2021 |
Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2021 The Authors |
First Published: | First published in Biomedicines 9(7): 841 |
Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
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