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Plasma Ceramides in Relation to Coronary Plaque Characterization Determined by Optical Coherence Tomography

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Abstract

Plasma ceramides (Cer), a subset of bioactive lipids, have mechanistic links to development of atherosclerosis and are related to major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). Previous researches have demonstrated vulnerable plaques contribute to acute cardiovascular events and poor prognosis. This study aimed to explore the associations between Cer and culprit plaque characterizations evaluated by optical coherence tomography (OCT). It was found that plasma Cer are associated with culprit plaque vulnerability evaluated by OCT, providing evidence supporting proatherogenic roles and potential to act as markers for plaque vulnerability of Cer.

With increasing plasma ceramide levels, the prevalence of thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) and plaque rupture (PR) is higher, that is, culprit plaques are more vulnerable.

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Abbreviations

Cer:

Ceramide

CHD:

Coronary heart disease

STEMI:

St-segment elevation myocardial infarction

OCT:

Optical coherence tomography

PR:

Plaque rupture

LRP:

Lipid-rich plaque

TCFA:

Thin-cap fibroatheroma

FCT:

Fibrous cap thickness

RRLC-Q-TOF/MS:

Rapid resolution liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

MACEs:

Major adverse cardiovascular events

Hs-CRP:

High-sensitive c-reactive protein

TC:

Total cholesterol

TG:

Triglyceride

HDL-C:

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol

LDL-C:

Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol

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Funding

This study was supported by research grants from the National Key R&D Program of China (2016YFC1301100) to Dr. Yu, grants from the Laboratory of Myocardial Ischemia, Harbin Medical University, Chinese Ministry of Education (KF201807) to Dr. Pan and grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (81901853) to Dr. Yang.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Province Heilongjiang, China

    Weili Pan, Hui Dong, Rong Sun, Linlin Zhao, Meng Sun, Xianghao Yu, Jinxin Liu, Jianjun Wu, Fan Yang & Bo Yu

  2. The Key Laboratory of Myocardial Ischemia, Chinese Ministry of Education, Harbin, Province Heilongjiang, China

    Weili Pan, Hui Dong, Rong Sun, Meng Sun, Xianghao Yu, Jinxin Liu, Jianjun Wu, Fan Yang & Bo Yu

  3. Department of Cardiology, People’s Liberation Army Joint Logistics Support Unit 962 Hospital, Harbin, Province Heilongjiang, China

    Longyan Li

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  1. Weili Pan
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  11. Bo Yu
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Correspondence to Bo Yu.

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Human Subjects/Informed Consent Statement

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (5). Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Associate Editor Craig M. Stolen oversaw the review of this article

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Pan, W., Dong, H., Sun, R. et al. Plasma Ceramides in Relation to Coronary Plaque Characterization Determined by Optical Coherence Tomography. J. of Cardiovasc. Trans. Res. 14, 140–149 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12265-020-09978-3

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