Local generation of C-reactive protein in diseased coronary artery venous bypass grafts and normal vascular tissue

Wolfram J. Jabs*, Elisabeth Theissing, Martin Nitschke, J. F.Matthias Bechtel, Michael Duchrow, Salah Mohamed, Bernhard Jahrbeck, Hans Hinrich Sievers, Jürgen Steinhoff, Claus Bartels

*Corresponding author for this work
133 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background - Venous coronary artery bypass grafts (CABGs) are prone to accelerated atherosclerosis. In atherosclerotic diseases, serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels have become an important diagnostic and prognostic marker. The origin of CRP in this setting remains to be elucidated. Methods and Results - Monoclonal anti-CRP identified CRP expression in medial and intimal α-actin-positive smooth muscle cells (SMCs) of diseased CABGs with type V and VI lesions and also of native saphenous veins of atherosclerotic individuals. In addition, patent coronary arteries with type IV and V but not with type I through III lesions exhibited intense SMC staining for CRP. Calcified desobliterates of occluded coronary arteries with end-stage disease did not show SMC staining for CRP and were consistently negative for CRP mRNA, as detected by means of real-time polymerase chain reaction. However, CRP mRNA was expressed in 11 of 15 diseased CABGs and also in 10 of 15 native veins. By contrast, only 3 of 18 internal mammary and 4 of 12 radial arteries with virtually no atherosclerosis were positive for CRP mRNA. Conclusions - CRP is produced by SMCs of atherosclerotic lesions with active disease but not in end-stage plaques. The role of CRP constitutively expressed by normal vascular tissue in vein graft disease has yet to be elucidated.

Original languageEnglish
JournalCirculation
Volume108
Issue number12
Pages (from-to)1428-1431
Number of pages4
ISSN0009-7322
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 23.09.2003

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