Correlation of C-Reactive Protein (Crp) in Blood and the Atherosclerotic Plaque and Its Severity in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery



Javanmard SH¹ ; Mirmohammadsadeghi M² ; Hashemijazi SM³ ; Ghaheh HS⁴ ; Mosayebi A⁵ Show Affiliations
Source: Journal of Isfahan Medical School Published:2013

Abstract

Background: Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease. There are several inflammatory molecules involved in the development of atherosclerosis. Among them, C-reactive Protein (CRP) is the best known biomarker for disease progression, plaque instability and fragility. This study aimed to determine the correlation of the venous CRP with plaque CRP in patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Methods: This study was done on 22 men with diabetes mellitus candidate for CABG surgery. Blood samples were taken from patients before surgery to determine the venous blood CRP level. The atherosclerotic plaque was removed from the vessel wall during the surgery. Samples of coronary atherosclerotic plaques were stained with Hematoxilin and Eosin to measure intima and media thickness and calculate the intima to media ratio (IMR). The immunohistochemistry staining was used to determine the CRP expression levels. Venous blood hsCRP concentrations were determined by ELISA method. Findings: There was no significant correlation between the intensity of CRP expression in atherosclerosis plaques and hsCRP concentrations in venous blood; but there was a significant correlation between the venous blood hsCRP concentration and severity of atherosclerosis (the IMR). Conclusion: Increased CRP represents systemic inflammation in the body and is correlated with the severity of atherosclerosis; so, it can be a reliable biomarker of disease progression. Despite of the existence of CRP in the atherosclerotic plaque, there is no correlation between the expression of CRP and hsCRP concentrations.