Circulating soluble adhesion molecules ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 and their association with clinical outcome, troponin T and C-reactive protein in patients with acute coronary syndromes.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare concentrations of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM-1) in patients with coronary artery disease and healthy control and to evaluate the usefulness of the inflammatory markers as predictors of adverse prognosis in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS).

DESIGN AND METHODS: ELISA was used to measure sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 levels in 75 patients with ACS, 36 patients with stable angina pectoris (SAP) and 25 healthy subjects. hsCRP was measured with immunoturbidimetric assay, cardiac troponin T-with electrochemiluminescence immunoassay.

RESULTS: All soluble ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 significantly discriminated between patients with ACS and SAP (p=0.014 and 0.05, respectively) and control subjects (p<0.001 and 0.05). During the 6-month follow-up of the patients with ACS, there were 28 major cardiac events (37.3%). The odds ratio associated with the highest value of sVCAM-1 was 4.62 (95% CI 1.8-11.4, p=0.0009) without adjustment and remained significantly elevated after adjustment for cTnT (RR 3.93, 1.5-10, p=0.04) and hsCRP (RR 2.22, 0.8-5.7, p=0.05). In contrast, an elevated level of sICAM-1 was not associated with future coronary risk after adjustment for cTnT and hsCRP.

CONCLUSIONS: In patients with acute coronary syndromes, VCAM-1 serum levels powerfully predict an increased risk for subsequent cardiovascular events and extend the prognostic information gained from traditional biochemical markers.