Researchers ID protein that may protect against coronary artery disease

Elderly people with higher levels of the protein CXCL5 in their blood tend to have clearer arteries, researchers reported in the American Journal of Pathology.

The discovery could lead to pharmaceutical developments and the potential for CXCL5 to be used as a biomarker for coronary artery disease (CAD), said lead researcher Jonathan Schisler, PhD, an assistant professor of pharmacology and member of the University of North Carolina McAllister Heart Institute.

“CXCL5 looks to be protective against CAD, and the more CXCL5 you have, the healthier your coronary arteries are,” Schisler said in a press release. “Our findings suggest that there may be a genetic basis to CAD and that CXCL5 may be of therapeutic interest to combat the disease.”

Schisler and colleagues analyzed blood samples and heart scans from 143 patients age 65 or older who were receiving cardiac catheterization at UNC Medical Center. CAD was quantified in each subject via coronary angiography and circulating CXCL5 levels were measured from plasma.

When analyzing the relationship between CAD and CXCL5, the researchers detected a negative association with a covariate-adjusted odds ratio of 0.54. The more CXCL5 a patient had, the less advanced their CAD was likely to be.

In addition, people with less plaque buildup tended to have genetic variants near the CXCL5 gene, Schisler and colleagues reported.

Potential pharmacological targets include developing drugs that mimic the effects of CXCL5 or drugs that increase the body’s natural CXCL5 production to prevent CAD in high-risk patients.

Importantly, this study didn’t contain any healthy patients because all individuals in the trial were referred for cardiac catheterizations. Future research is necessary to explore the relationship between CAD and CXCL5 in a broader population.