Assessment of Circulating CCR6 Level in Acute Myocardial Infarction and its Association with Disease Severity

BACKGROUND: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) pathophysiology is mediated by systemic, intraplaque myocardial inflammatory processes that occur mainly due to coronary artery thrombosis in an atherosclerotic plaque area. The G-protein-coupled chemokine receptor (Ccr6) is displayed on the surface of many types of leukocytes, that have been found in atherosclerotic plaques. It is a novel mediator of inflammation and immune response. OBJECTIVES: To determine CCR6 lymphocyte expression in AMI patients and its association with disease severity using the Gensini scoring system. METHODS: 25 AMI patients and 25 controls underwent flow cytometry to determine the percentage of circulating CCR6+ lymphocytes. To forecast AMI and determine how CCR6 expression relates to it, multivariate logistic regression analysis was used. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: There was a higher percentage of CCR6+ lymphocyte expression in AMI patients than in controls. In addition, CCR6 showed a significant positive correlation with the Gensini score (GS) in the AMI group then with the degree of coronary artery disease (CAD). CONCLUSION: The chemokine receptor CCR6 is an independent biomarker for AMI and mayplay a role as a mediator of T lymphocyte recruitment, which is associated with coronary lesion destabilization.