Epicardial, pericardial fat and glucagon-like peptide-1 and 2 receptors expression in stable patients with multivessel coronary artery disease: an association with renin-angiotensin-aldosterone

INTRODUCTION: The expression of glucagon‑like peptide receptors (GLP‑Rs) in epicardial fat (EF) and pericardial fat (PF) depots might be involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. OBJECTIVES: We sought to evaluate the messenger RNA (mRNA) expressions of GLP‑1R and GLP‑2R in EF and PF and their associations with the renin‑angiotensin‑aldosterone system (RAAS) in patients with multivessel coronary artery disease (CAD). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Consecutive stable patients with multivessel CAD requiring elective coronary artery bypass grafting were enrolled. Clinical data, anthropometric parameters, and the quantity of fat depots (assessed by cardiovascular magnetic resonance and abdominal ultrasound) were obtained. Fat samples (EF, PF, subcutaneous fat) were taken from patients during cardiac surgery. Relative mRNA expression of GLP‑1R, GLP‑2R, and RAAS components (angiotensin II receptor type 1, angiotensinogen, angiotensin I-converting enzyme 1, and angiotensinI-converting enzyme 2) were assessed in those fat depots. RESULTS: Fifty‑three patients (64.7 [7.4] years) were included in the final analysis. We found that only the relative expression of GLP‑2R was lower in PF compared with subcutaneous fat (reference). Ultrasound abdominal fat depots were associated with both GLP‑1R and GLP‑2R in PF. GLP‑1R and GLP‑2R showed significant correlations with RAAS components in both EF and PF. CONCLUSIONS: In stable patients with MVD, the relative mRNA expression for both GLP receptors revealed significant associations with majority of analysed RAAS components.