Can protein biomarkers provide an index of coronary artery calcification in patients with Type 2 diabetes?

Objectives: By exploring differences between patients with high and low coronary artery calcification score (CACS), a plasma protein biomarker might be identified as an alternative to CACS screening. Methods: We selected stored samples (12 per group) from a cohort study of patients with Type 2 diabetes and CACS > 1000 or < 100 Agatston units, with matching for age, BMI, blood pressure, lipids and lipoproteins and fibrinogen. Multiplex, immunobead-based assay or ELISA measured 18 cardiovascular-related protein biomarkers. SELDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MS) screened for proteins differing significantly between high and low CACS. Results: Only monocyte chemotactic protein-1 was higher in the high compared with the low CACS group but concentrations overlapped appreciably. On SELDI-TOF MS, several mass/charge ratio peak intensities significantly discriminated high and low CACS but these differences were not confirmed in larger samples from the cohort. Conclusions: Plasma protein biomarkers are unlikely to provide an effective alternative to measurement of CACS. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.