Mechanisms Of Monocyte Chemotaxis And MCP-1, RANTES And Fractalkine On Promoting Vulnerability Of Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaques

To study the correlation between the characteristic features of unstable atherosclerotic plaques with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and the monocytes chemotaxis. To elucidate the roles of monocyte chemotactic factors (MCP-1, RANTES and Fractalkine) on the vulnerability of atherosclerotic plaques in patients with stable and unstable angina pectoris.Methods:Fifty patients with stable angina pectoris (SAP) and fifty patients with unstable angina pectoris (UAP) underwent the study. Coronary arteriography (CAG) and IVUS were performed in all patients. Monocyte chemotaxis was assayed by the transwell chamber. Concentrations of hsC-RP, MCP-1, RANTES and Fractalkine were measured by means of Enzyme-Linked-Immonosorbent Assay (ELISA). mRNA expression levels of MCP-1, RANTES and Fractalkine in the monocytes were measured by RT-PCR.Results:IVUS found that 48% UAP patients had soft lipid plaques, while SAP patients mainly had fibrous and mixed plaques, only 16% had soft plaques. UAP patients had larger plaque burden and vascular remodeling index than those of SAP patients (P<0.01). The averaged number of migrated monocytes measured in the UAP patients were more than that in patients with SAP (P<0.01). The UAP groupe shows a higher activity of monocytes chemotaxis ability. PB measured with IVUS correlated well with monocytes chemotaxis(r=0.52, P<0.01). Concentration of hsC-RP, MCP-1, RANTES and Fractalkine were significantly higher in UAP patients than those of SAP patients (P<0.05-0.01). mRNA expression levels of MCP-1, RANTES and Fractalkine in patients with UAP were significantly higher than those of SAP patients (P<0.05).Conclusions:The monocytes chemotaxis ability was associated with the stabality of atherosclerotic plaques. Monocyte chemotactic factors (MCP-1, RANTES and Fractalkine) were associated with coronary plaque vulnerability.