The relationship between circulating neuregulin-1 and coronary collateral circulation in patients with coronary artery disease

Abstract

Coronary collateral circulation (CCC) plays a crucial role in myocardial blood supply, especially for ischemic myocardium. Previous study has shown that neuregulin-1 is a prominent angiogenic factor in diabetic cardiomyopathy, whereas the relationship between neuregulin-1 and CCC has not been investigated. Thus, we aimed to investigate relationship between circulating neuregulin-1 levels and CCC in stable coronary artery disease patients. Coronary artery disease patients with a stenosis of 90% as evidenced by coronary angiography were included in our study. According to the Rentrop-Cohen classification, coronary collateral degree was graded as 1 to 4. Patients with collateral degree grade 0 or 1 were enrolled in poor CCC group, whereas patients with grade 2 or 3 were enrolled in good CCC group. Plasma neuregulin-1 level was significantly increased in good collateral group and positively related to Rentrop grade (P < 0.01). Multivariate regression analysis and ROC (receiver operating characteristic curve) revealed that plasma neuregulin-1 could predict CCC status effectively. Increased plasma neuregulin-1 level was related to better CCC in patients with coronary artery disease. Neuregulin-1 was an independent and reliable predictor for good coronary collateral development and provided a potential therapeutic strategy to reduce myocardial ischemia injury.