suPAR: A New Biomarker for Cardiovascular Disease?

The fundamental role of inflammation in cardiovascular disease (CVD) has prompted interest in numerous biomarkers that detect subclinical levels of inflammation. Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) is a novel biomarker that correlates significantly with cardiovascular events and outperforms traditional markers of inflammation such as C-reactive protein (CRP) in prognosticating a range of CVDs. Furthermore, of particular interest is the suggestion that suPAR reflects a pathophysiological pathway more closely linked with subclinical organ damage than CRP. We provide the first comprehensive review of suPAR in CVD and explore its function and usefulness in predicting cardiovascular events.