Soluble Vascular Adhesion Protein-1 Correlates With Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Early Atherosclerotic Manifestations

Abstract

Objective— Vascular adhesion protein-1 is an endothelial enzyme that regulates leukocyte traffic and contributes to vascular damage in animal models. The relations of soluble vascular adhesion protein-1 (sVAP-1) with cardiovascular risk factors and markers of subclinical atherosclerosis at a population level have not been studied. Methods and Results— We developed a new high-throughput method and measured sVAP-1 activities in serum of 2183 persons (The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study). In women, sVAP-1 activity correlated indirectly with body mass index ( r =−0.15 , P <0.0001), triglycerides ( r =−0.13, P <0.0001), C-reactive protein ( r =−0.23; P <0.0001), and brachial artery flow-mediated vasodilatation ( r =−0.076, P =0.0089) and directly with carotid plaques ( r =0.066, P =0.023). None of these correlations was significant in men. In women, all these univariate correlations remained significant after adjustment for body mass index, and direct correlations with LDL-cholesterol ( r =0.094, P =0.0014) and carotid intima-media thickness ( r =0.075, P =0.010) became evident. In men, sVAP-1 activity associated directly with glucose ( r =0.074, P =0.020), intima-media thickness ( r =0.072, P =0.025), metabolic syndrome ( P =0.016), and type 1 ( P =0.0002) and type 2 ( P <0.0001) diabetes. In multivariable analyses, sVAP-1 activity was an independent determinant of carotid intima-media thickness ( P =0.0072) and plaques [odds ratio 1.71 (95% confidence interval 1.07–2.72, P =0.025] in women, but not in men. Conclusion— sVAP-1 activity correlates directly with intima-media thickness and carotid plaques in general population and may play a role in the pathophysiology of preclinical atherosclerosis.