Neutrophil count as the centerpiece in the joined association networks of inflammatory and cell damage markers, and neuroendocrine stress markers in patients with stable angina pectoris following stenting

The primary aim of this study was to examine whether markers of cell damage and of the psycho-neuroendocrino-inflammatory/immune (PNI) system could be associated in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) on the next day following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Blood samples of 23 patients (18 men and five women, mean age 62.9 ± 10.6 years), were collected immediately before (pre-PCI), immediately after (post-PCI), and on the day following PCI (1d-PCI). Lactoferrin, LL-37 and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were assayed in plasma, in addition to cortisol and chromogranin A (CgA), as well as CK, ASAT and ALAT. Total and differential leukocyte counts were also analysed. At all the three time points, the monocyte fractions, the monocyte-to-lymphocyte and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios and CgA levels were elevated. We detected significant peri-procedural changes in the plasma levels of our PNI markers: IL-6 (p