High Plasma Levels of Fortilin in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

Excessive apoptosis is known to be a common feature of atherosclerotic lesions. Fortilin is recognized to have potent antiapoptotic properties. An increased fortilin expression was demonstrated in atherosclerotic lesions, and fortilin knockout mice developed less atherosclerosis. However, no study has reported blood fortilin levels in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). We investigated plasma fortilin levels in 384 patients undergoing coronary angiography. CAD severity was evaluated as the numbers of stenotic vessels and segments. CAD was found in 208 patients (one-vessel (1VD), n = 86; two-vessel (2VD), n = 68; and three-vessel disease (3VD), n = 54). Plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were higher in patients with CAD than without CAD (median 0.60 vs. 0.45 mg/L, p < 0.01). Notably, fortilin levels were higher in patients with CAD than without CAD (75.1 vs. 69.7 pg/mL, p < 0.02). A stepwise increase in fortilin was found according to the number of stenotic vessels: 69.7 in CAD(−), 71.1 in 1VD, 75.7 in 2VD, and 84.7 pg/mL in 3VD (p < 0.01). Fortilin levels also correlated with the number of stenotic segments (r = 0.16) and CRP levels (r = 0.24) (p < 0.01). In a multivariate analysis, fortilin levels were independently associated with 3VD. The odds ratio for 3VD was 1.93 (95%CI = 1.01−3.71) for a high fortilin level (>70.0 pg/mL). Thus, plasma fortilin levels in patients with CAD, especially those with 3VD, were found to be high and to be associated with the severity of CAD.