Leukocyte counts and concentrations of soluble adhesion molecules as predictors of coronary atherosclerosis

Background Authors of recent studies have reported that there is a relationship between level of adhesion molecules and atherosclerosis, In an animal study it was demonstrated that there is an interaction between adhesion molecules and leukocytes in atherosclerotic tissue. Objective To study the relationships between coronary-artery atherosclerosis and both differential blood-leukocyte count and concentrations of soluble adhesion molecules in patients with and without coronary artery disease (CAD), Methods Our subjects were 168 patients who underwent diagnostic coronary angiography, Forty-eight patients had normal coronary angiograms (control group), and 120 patients had significant coronary-artery stenoses (diameter stenosis > 70%) in at least one major coronary-artery branch (CAD group). Total and differential blood-leukocyte counts, and concentrations of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) were assayed prior to angiography, Results Monocyte counts for patients in the CAD group were significantly greater than those for patients in the control group (366 +/- 99 versus 258 +/- 44/mu l, P < 0.0001), as were the sICAM-1 concentrations (272 +/- 52 versus 203 +/- 24 ng/ml, P < 0.0001), The mean concentrations of sVCAM-1 in members of the two groups were the same (671 +/- 138 versus 668 +/- 97 ng/ml, P = 0.4), There was a higher incidence of significant coronary-artery stenosis among patients with both a high monocyte count and a high concentration of sICAM-1 (greater than or equal to mean + SD) than there was among patients with a low monocyte count and a low concentration of sICAM-1 (greater than or equal to mean - SD; 100 versus 25%, P < 0.0001), Conclusions Higher levels both of monocyte counts and of serum concentrations of ICAM-1 may serve as markers for coronary atherosclerosis, Coron Artery Dis 11:445-449 (C) 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.