Aims
Platelets express high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), a damage-associated molecular pattern molecule (DAMP) that triggers thrombosis and inflammation when present in extracellular space. The role of platelet-derived HMGB1 in coronary artery disease (CAD) remains unexplored.
Background/aims
Platelets express high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), a damage-associated molecular pattern molecule (DAMP) that triggers thrombosis and inflammation when present in extracellular space. The role of platelet-derived HMGB1 in coronary artery disease (CAD) remains unexplored.
Conclusion
These findings suggest that HMGB1 expressed on the surface of circulating platelets in patients with symptomatic CAD may not serve as a prognostic biomarker for this disease state.
Methods
In a cohort study, we measured the expression of HMGB1 on the surface of circulating platelets in 183 patients with symptomatic CAD (stable CAD: n=80, acute coronary syndrome, ACS: n=103) at the time of percutaneous coronary intervention. All patients were tracked for course of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), all-cause death (ACD), and myocardial infarction (MI) for 360 days after study inclusion.
Results
Platelet HMGB1 expression did not significantly differ between stable CAD, unstable CAD, non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), and ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Moreover, platelet HMGB1 did not significantly correlate with LVEF, neither at baseline nor at 6 months follow-up of the MI subgroup, and did not exert any significant effect on outcome (composite of ACD and/or MI as well as single events ACD and MI). Cumulative event-free survival of patients was not significantly different between HMGB1 levels above the median and HMGB1 levels below or equal to the median.