Background:In the blood of pregnant women, pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) is present as a covalent complex with the proform of eosinophil major basic protein (proMBP). Recently, increased serum concentrations of PAPP-A have been found in acute coronary syndromes (ACS). The aim of this study was to investigate whether the circulating PAPP-A in ACS is the same as that in pregnancy. Methods: We developed two time-resolved immunofluorometric assays based on a relative epitope map constructed by the use of 17 monoclonal antibodies. One assay, which measured total PAPP-A, used two PAPP-A subunit-specific antibodies. The other assay, which measured PAPP-A/proMBP complex, used one proMBP subunit-specific antibody and one PAPP-A subunitspecific antibody. Serum samples from four patients with myocardial infarction (MI), three pregnant women in their first trimester, and one in her third trimester were fractionated by gel filtration on a Superose TM 6 precision column. The two assays were used to analyze fractions obtained by gel filtration as well as serum samples serially collected from four other MI patients. Results: Pregnancy-related PAPP-A was eluted as a single peak with a molecular mass of ϳ700 kDa, whereas ACS-related PAPP-A was also eluted as a single peak but with a molecular mass of ϳ530 kDa. Pregnancy-related PAPP-A was detected equally by the

PAPP-A is elevated early in STEMI and then declines rapidly, a pattern consistent with release from the ruptured plaque. The variability of PAPP-A kinetics at 48 hours reflects the success of reperfusion. This study also shows that PAPP-A may have prognostic value in STEMI.

Background: Pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) concentrations are increased in the circulation of patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and are associated with future adverse cardiac events. PAPP-A in ACS differs from PAPP-A in pregnancy in that PAPP-A in ACS is not complexed with the proform of eosinophil major basic protein (proMBP). We investigated the effect of antibody selection on the utility of PAPP-A assays for measurement of PAPP-A in pregnancy and/or ACS, and whether immunoassays for PAPP-A in pregnancy are suitable for PAPP-A in ACS. Methods: We constructed 2-site sandwich time-resolved immunofluorometric assays using 22 monoclonal antibodies raised against pregnancy serum PAPP-A. All antibodies were studied in pairs, with each antibody used as either capture or tracer. We compared the reactivity of each antibody combination with PAPP-A/ proMBP complex derived from pregnancy sera or with uncomplexed PAPP-A extracted from atherosclerotic plaques. Recombinant human PAPP-A and proMBP were also used to determine the specificity of the antibodies. We confirmed all major findings with serum samples collected from patients with myocardial infarction. Results: Six monoclonal antibodies reacted with the proMBP subunit of the PAPP-A/proMBP complex.