Soluble Receptor of Advanced Glycated Endproducts Is Associated With Plaque Vulnerability in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction

BACKGROUND: The roles of soluble and endogenous secretory receptors for advanced glycation endproducts (sRAGE and esRAGE, respectively) in plaque vulnerability are unknown in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS AND RESULTS: We enrolled 54 patients with AMI (27 patients had type 2 diabetes mellitus [DM]) who had undergone primary percutaneous coronary intervention, and 54 controls who were matched for age, gender and the presence of DM. Plasma levels of s/esRAGE and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 were measured at the time of coronary angiography. There were no significant differences in the baseline characteristics of the AMI and control groups, except for the C-reactive protein levels (CRP: 14.1 ± 14.2 mg/L vs. 3.7 ± 5.2 mg/L, P < 0.001). The plasma levels of MMP-9 (28.6 ± 21.4 vs. 14.3 ± 8.5 ng/ml P < 0.001) and sRAGE (0.61 ± 0.28 vs. 0.41 ± 0.17 ng/ml, P < 0.001) were higher in the AMI group than in the controls. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, the plasma levels of MMP-9 and sRAGE above the median (odds ratio [OR], 2.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-5.58; P = 0.044; OR, 2.47; 95%CI, 1.05-5.80; P = 0.039, respectively) were independent predictors of AMI, as well as being a current smoker (OR, 2.98; 95%CI, 1.18-7.55; P = 0.021) and CRP ≥ 3.0 mg/L (OR, 3.08; 95%CI, 1.25-7.59; P = 0.015). CONCLUSIONS: An elevated plasma level of sRAGE might be independently associated with plaque vulnerability, as well as MMP-9, in patients with AMI.