Study on atherosclerotic plaque composition in patients with intermediate coronary stenosis by multidetector computed tomography angiography, serum matrix metalloproteinase 9 and soluble CD40 ligand

AIM:To study the atherosclerotic plaque composition in patients with intermediate coronary stenosis using multidetector computed tomography angiography (MDCTA) and to explore the relationship between serum matrix metalloproteinase 9, soluble CD40 ligand level and plaque composition. METHODS: Enrolled in the study were 65 patients aged (62±8) years, including 36 patients aged (61±1) years with stable angina pectoris (SAP) and 29 patients age (64±8) years with unstable angina pectoris (UAP) with at least one segment of coronary diameter stenosis 30%-70% confirmed by contrast-enhanced 64-DCTA. Plaque composition in coronary arteries was determined by plaque CT value based on Hounsfield units (HU): noncalcified, calcified, or mixed, and serum MMP-9 and sCD40L expressions were measured in both patients and 37 volunteers age (46±15) years without coronary heart disease (CHD). RESULTS: Plaques found in patients with intermediate coronary stenosis were mixed (118, 46%), noncalcified (85, 33%) and calcified (54, 21%) and the number of mixed plus noncalcified was significantly higher than the number of calcified (P<0.05). The levels of serum MMP-9 and sCD40L were higher in patients and lower in volunteers without CHD (P<0.01, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Patients with intermediate coronary stenosis have a higher burden of mixed and noncalcified plaques and higher activities of serum MMP-9 and sCD40L. Thus, it is important to stabilize the vulnerable plaques so as to prevent and reduce acute cardiovascular events.