Soluble glycoprotein 130 is inversely related to severity of coronary atherosclerosis

AbstractPurpose: Recent studies indicate that the effects of interleukin 6 (IL-6) realized via soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) facilitate the development of various pathological processes. Soluble gp130 (sgp130) is a naturally occurring inhibitor of signal transduction via this pathway. In this study, we assessed the relationship between circulating levels of IL-6, sIL-6R and sgp130 and severity of coronary atherosclerosis in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD).Methods: Plasma levels of IL-6, sIL-6R and sgp130 were measured in patients with atherosclerotic coronary lesions (n = 128, group 1) and with intact coronary arteries (n = 48, group 2). The severity of coronary atherosclerosis was evaluated by the number of affected arteries and by Gensini Score index.Results : Circulating IL-6 levels in group 1 were significantly higher than those in group 2. The levels of sIL-6R did not differ considerably in both groups. The levels of sgp130 in group 1 were significantly lower than in group 2. A ne...