Associations of C1q/TNF-Related Protein-9 Levels in Serum and Epicardial Adipose Tissue with Coronary Atherosclerosis in Humans

Abstract

Objective. To investigate the correlation of CTRP9 with coronary atherosclerosis. Methods. Coronary angiography confirmed CAD in 241 patients (62 received CABG) and non-CAD in 121 (55 received valve replacement). Results. Serum levels of LDL-C, CRP, TNF-α, IL-6, and leptin in CAD patients were significantly higher than those in non-CAD patients (P < 0.05), but APN and CTRP9 were lower (P < 0.05). Serum levels of CTRP9 and APN were negatively related to BMI, HOMA-IR, TNF-α, IL-6, and leptin but positively to HDL-C (P < 0.05) in CAD patients. After adjustment of APN, CTRP9 was still related to the above parameters. Serum CTRP9 was a protective factor of CAD (P < 0.05). When compared with non-CAD patients, leptin mRNA expression increased dramatically, while CTRP9 mRNA expression reduced markedly in epicardial adipose tissue of CAD patients (P < 0.05). The leptin expression and macrophage count in CAD group were significantly higher than in non-CAD group, but CAD patients had a markedly lower CTRP9 expression (P < 0.05). Conclusions. Circulating and coronary CTRP9 plays an important role in the inflammation and coronary atherosclerosis of CAD patients. Serum CTRP9 is an independent protective factor of CAD.

The Circulating CTRP13 in Type 2 Diabetes and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Patients

“…There is also a growing body of studies showing that CTRP1 and CTRP9 play a possible role in coronary artery disease and atherosclerosis [17,25,26]. In the present study we show that CTRP13 have a negative correlation with cIMT (as a marker for subclinical atherosclerosis), and CTRP13 also is a significant negative predictor of cIMT.…”

Plasma C1q/TNF-Related Protein-9 Levels Are Associated with Atherosclerosis in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes without Renal Dysfunction

“…CTRP9 was shown to induce endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation [14], attenuate neointimal formation after vascular injury [13], and protect against cardiac injury [10, 11], and adverse cardiac remodeling [12] after acute infarction in mice. Consistent with those experimental studies, serum CTRP9 levels were found to be inversely related to obesity, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia in a community-based population [15] and in patients with coronary artery disease [16]. In contrast, serum CTRP9 levels were positively associated with BMI in morbidly obese subjects requiring bariatric surgery [17] and with obesity, insulin resistance, and arterial stiffness in subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D) [18].…”

“…Previous experimental studies in mice consistently demonstrated the beneficial effects of CTRP9 on vascular endothelial function [14], vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation [13], and the profile of inflammatory cytokines in macrophages [28, 29]. Several studies have investigated the association of CTRP9 with cardiovascular risk factors in human subjects [15, 16, 18], whereas only two reports have shown the association of CTRP9 with atherosclerosis [18] or cardiovascular disease [16]. In a study in which 35% of subjects had diabetes [16], the CTRP9 level in serum and epicardial adipose tissue negatively predicted the presence of coronary artery disease.…”

“…Several studies have investigated the association of CTRP9 with cardiovascular risk factors in human subjects [15, 16, 18], whereas only two reports have shown the association of CTRP9 with atherosclerosis [18] or cardiovascular disease [16]. In a study in which 35% of subjects had diabetes [16], the CTRP9 level in serum and epicardial adipose tissue negatively predicted the presence of coronary artery disease. In contrast, a study exclusively of diabetic subjects [18] showed that serum CTRP9 levels were independently and positively associated with arterial stiffness.…”

“…Moreover, the association of CTRP9 with atherosclerosis remains to be fully investigated because patients with renal dysfunction or chronic kidney disease (CKD), who have a high risk of cardiovascular mortality [19], were not included in the preceding studies [15, 16, 18]. Therefore, in this study, we measured the plasma levels of CTRP9 in subjects with T2D representing a wide range of renal function and investigated the clinical association of plasma CTRP9 level with the intima-media thickness (IMT) of the carotid artery separately in subjects with CKD and in those without CKD.…”