Serum levels of ceruloplasmin and myeloperoxidase in patients with stable coronary artery disease

Ceruloplasmin (CP) was reported to be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. It has been identified as an acute phase protein and it carries about 95% of plasma copper. Myeloperoxidase (MPO), a leukocyte enzyme, has been listed as a potentially useful risk marker in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). More recently, it has been suggested that CP could be a physiological inhibitor of MPO. The aim of this study was to evaluate CP activity, MPO concentration, high sensitive C-reactive protein (CRP-hs) and Interleukine-6 (IL-6) in 22 patients with coronary arterial disease (CAD) and 22 control subjects and to analyze the association with other inflammatory parameters. CP activity was determined evaluating ferroxidase activity and MPO concentration, CRP-hs and IL-6 were measured by standardized methods. CP activity and MPO concentration were significantly higher in CAD patients than in healthy subjects (891 +/- 179 versus 630 +/- 115 IU/ L, p<0.0001); (417 +/- 295 versus 179 +/- 145 ng/mL, p=0.0018), respectively. Significant association was found between MPO levels and CP activity (r=0.47, p=0.0272). Elevated MPO levels suggest that systemic release of MPO is a characteristic feature of asymptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD) and high CP activity could reflect subclinical atherosclerosis burden in patients who eventually develop symptomatic CAD.