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Blood levels of various molecules related to oxidative stress may be useful biomarkers in predicting the risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture. This is confirmed by a study carried out by researchers from the CIBER for Cardiovascular Diseases (CIBERCV) at the Research Institute of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau) and at the Barcelona Biomedical Research Institute (IIBB-CSIC), and the CIBER of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN) and the Rey Juan Carlos University, which has been published in the journal Antioxidants.
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a life-threatening condition consisting of a localized and permanent dilatation of the abdominal aorta, whose prevalence can reach 4-7% of men over 65 years of age. Over time, the aortic diameter tends to expand and the risk of rupture increases, the most serious complication of this disease, which produces extensive internal bleeding. This event is responsible for between 1% and 2% of all deaths and is one of the main causes of death in men over 70 years of age.
The implementation of ultrasound detection programs has improved the early diagnosis of this pathology, but finding new indicators for the prognosis of its evolution is key in the management of the disease. In this sense, although the incidence of rupture increases with aortic diameter, this parameter is not a good predictor of risk in all cases, since small aneurysms can also have a poor outcome. Therefore, the identification of biomarkers in blood to assess AAA progression will play a key role in improving the identification of patients at higher risk.
This has been the objective of this new research, which focused on analyzing the prognostic value of circulating levels (in the blood) of several molecules related to oxidative stress and inflammation. "In order to identify new circulating biomarkers, we selected a battery of immunoinflammatory and oxidative stress markers that we know are involved in the pathological mechanisms of abdominal aortic aneurysm progression," says María Galán, a CIBERCV researcher who led the study .
For this, an analysis of the correlation of these markers with two risk parameters was performed: the diameter of the aneurysm and the value of maximum arterial wall tension. Samples of aneurysmal aortas and blood samples from 94 patients with AAA were studied, comparing them with samples of abdominal aortas and blood from healthy people.
The results showed that the blood levels of superoxide anion, IgM, IgG, CD38, GDF15, S100A4, as well as their expression in the abdominal aorta of AAA patients, were altered compared to healthy controls.
"The levels of IgG, CD38 and GDF15 were positively correlated with the diameter of the abdominal aorta and with the values of maximum wall tension, showing that they have the potential to help predict the risk of rupture and growth of the aneurysm in patients with AAA" , points out David Sánchez-Infantes, first author of the work.
"These findings suggest the usefulness of these biomarkers, which can be measured in a blood sample, to help manage patients with aneurysms, along with other tools already used in prognosis such as aortic diameter and maximum wall tension," they conclude. the researchers.
Reference article:
Sánchez-Infantes D, Nus M, Navas-Madroñal M, Fité J, Pérez B, Barros-Membrilla AJ, Soto B, Martínez-González J, Camacho M, Rodriguez C, Mallat Z, Galán M. Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Markers in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm. Antioxidants (Basel). 2021 Apr 14;10(4):602. doi:10.3390/antiox10040602. PMID: 33919749; PMCID: PMC8070751.