Circulating Levels of LAMP2 in Coronary Artery Disease: Association with Serum Lipid Profile

Whereas several in vitro and in vivo studies have described the role of lysosomal associated membrane protein 2 (LAMP2) in lipid homeostasis, there is no study addressing LAMP2 serum concentration and its association with lipid profiles in the context of coronary artery disease (CAD). We aimed to determine the LAMP2 serum concentration and its association with serum lipid profiles as well as the gene expression of LAMP2 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of CAD patients and control group. Circulating levels of LAMP2 were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in CAD patients (n = 85) and control group (n = 65) and correlation to lipid parameters was assessed. Gene expression analysis was performed by quantitative real-time PCR. Mean LAMP2 serum concentration adjusted for drug consumption, age and gender was not significantly different between the CAD and control groups (p > 0.05). However, LAMP2 serum concentration showed independent significant association with lipid profiles including triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (all p < 0.05). Furthermore, increased expression of LAMP2 has been observed in PBMCs of CAD patients compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Our findings supported the previous observations showing the contribution of LAMP2 in lipid homeostasis and pathogenesis of CAD.