Morphological features of vulnerable plaque in intravascular ultrasound and predictive value of levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and matrix metalloproteinase 9 in plasma

Wu Xi; Zeng Yujie

doi:10.3760/cma.j.issn.1673-4777.2016.02.004

Abstract：Objective To explore the morphological features of vulnerable plaque in intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and the predictive value of the levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CPR) and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) in plasma.Methods Totally 76 patients who underwent IVUS from March 2007 to December 2010 were enrolled.According to the IVUS results,the patients were divided into stable plaque group and vulnerable plaque group.The features of plaque in IVUS,the levels of hs-CRP and MMP-9 were compared between groups.Results There were 26 cases in vulnerable plaque group,50 cases in stable plaque group.The proportion of soft plaque and plaque burden in vulnerable plaque group were significantly higher than those in stable plaque group [38.5％ (10/26) vs 8.0％ (4/51),(64 ± 10)％ vs (56 ± 14)％] (P ＞0.05);the remodeling type was mainly positive remodeling/non remodeling in vulnerable plaque group [positive remodeling:23.1％ (6/26),non remodeling:34.6％ (9/26),negative remodeling:42.3％ (11/26)],was mainly negative remodeling in stable plaque group [positive remodeling:10.0％ (5/50),non remodeling:12.0％ (6/50),negative remodeling:78.0％ (39/50)],with significant difference between group (P ＜ 0.05).The levels of hsCRP and MMP-9 in vulnerable plaque group were significantly higher than those in stable plaque group [(3.5 ± 3.1) mg/Lvs (2.2±1.7) mg/L,(85.8±2.1) μg/Lvs (54.2±2.0) μg/L] (P＜0.05).Conclusions In IVUS,the soft plaque proportion and plaque burden of coronary artery vulnerable plaque are higher compared with stable plaque;the blood levels of hs-CRP and MMP-9 are significantly higher in patients with vulnerable plaque than those in patients with stable plaque,and they has certain predictive function for coronary artery vulnerable plaques.