Zhongsheng Zhu1,2 

1Department of Cardiology, Guangming Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Pudong New Area, Shanghai, 201321, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Cardiology, Shanghai Pudong Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, 201300, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Zhongsheng Zhu, Department of Cardiology, Guangming Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Pudong New Area, 339 Dongmen Ave, Pudong, Shanghai, 201321, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-18117209753, Email drzzs66@163.com

Background: Arterial stiffness is associated with accelerated progression of atherosclerosis and plaque rupture. Lysyl oxidase-like 2 (LOXL2) plays a vital role in inflammatory responses, matrix deposition and arterial stiffness. This study assessed the correlation between the serum LOXL2 concentration and disease severity, inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction of coronary artery disease (CAD).
Methods: The study included 143 CAD patients and 150 non-CAD patients who underwent coronary angiography. Medical records, demographic and clinical baseline parameters were collected. Serum LOXL2 levels were measured using an ELISA kit.
Results: CAD patients had higher serum LOXL2 levels than non-CAD patients, and LOXL2 levels were associated with severity of coronary lesions. Serum LOXL2 level was positively correlated with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (r=0.161, P=0.054), systolic blood pressure (SBP) (r=0.175, P=0.036), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (r=0.177, P=0.035), intima-media thickness (IMT) (r=0.190, P=0.023), and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) (r=0.203, P=0.015), while negatively associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (r=− 0.191, P=0.023) and flow-mediated dilation (FMD) (r=− 0.183, P=0.028) in CAD patients. Multivariate logistic regression showed that LOXL2 is independently correlated with LDL-C (OR=3.380; 95% CI=1.258– 9.082; P=0.016), hs-CRP (OR=10.988; 95% CI=1.962– 61.532; P=0.006), TC (OR=2.229; 95% CI=1.005– 4.944; P=0.049), IMT (OR=72.719; 95% CI=2.313– 2286.008; P=0.015), and baPWV (OR=1.002; 95% CI=1.001– 1.004; P=0.005) in CAD patients. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed that the best cut-off for CAD as serum LOXL2 is 275.35 pg/mL, with sensitivity and specificity of 77.6% and 84%, respectively.
Conclusion: Our data demonstrated that LOXL2 could be a potential biomarker and independent risk factor for CAD patients.

Keywords: coronary artery disease, CAD, atherosclerosis, endothelial dysfunction, arterial stiffness, LXOL2