Association of high mobility group box 1 protein with coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Recently, the role of inflammation in coronary artery disease and the association of inflammatory biomarkers with adverse outcomes have been investigated in many studies. We investigated the relationship between high serum mobility group box 1 protein levels and established risk factors for coronary artery disease.

METHODS: Fifty-five patients who presented to our Cardiovascular Surgery Clinic and subsequently underwent coronary artery bypass surgery for coronary artery disease and 50 healthy subjects presenting to the cardiology outpatient clinic without any cardiovascular problem were included in the study. The mean age was 61.47 ± 9.38 years for patients and 58.20 ± 10.15 years for controls.

RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference between groups with respect to age or sex. Family history of coronary artery disease, aspirin use, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes were significantly more prevalent in the patient group versus the control group. A significant difference was found between patients and healthy controls with respect to high mobility group box 1 protein levels ( p = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: Serum high mobility group box 1 protein was significantly increased in patients with coronary artery disease in comparison to healthy subjects. No associations were found between high mobility group box 1 protein level and certain risk factors for coronary artery disease.