Higher plasma thrombospondin-1 levels in patients with coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus

Background and Objectives: Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) is associated with atherosclerosis in animals with diabetes mellitus (DM). But, no study has investigated the role of TSP-1 in human atherosclerosis. This study investigated the relationship among plasma TSP-1 concentration, DM, and coronary artery disease (CAD). Subjects and Methods: The study involved 374 consecutive subjects with suspected CAD, who had undergone coronary angiography to evaluate effort angina. Patients were divided into four groups as follows: DM(-) and CAD(-), DM(-) and CAD(+), DM(+) and CAD(-), and DM (+) and CAD(+). Results: We found that plasma TSP-1 levels were higher in patients with DM(+) and CAD(+) (n=103) than those in other patients (n= 271) (p<0.01). A multivariate analysis showed that male gender {odds ratio (OR), 2.728; 95% confidence interval (Cl), 1.035-7.187}, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (OR, 0.925; 95% Cl, 0.874-0.980), glycated hemoglobin (OR, 1.373; 95% Cl, 1.037-1.817), and plasma TSP-1 (OR, 1.004; 95% Cl, 1.000-1.008) levels were independently associated with the presence of CAD in patients with DM. Conclusion: Plasma TSP-1 levels were higher in patients with DM(+) and CAD(+) than those in other patients, and plasma TSP-1 levels were independently associated with the presence of CAD in patients with DM. These findings show a possible link between human plasma TSP-1 concentration and CAD in patients with DM.