Review Article

Markers of Inflammation Associated with Plaque Progression and Instability in Patients with Carotid Atherosclerosis

Table 1

Summary of the main findings on the relation between biomarkers and carotid atherosclerosis.

MarkerIMTPresence of plaqueSeverity of stenosisImaging features of vulnerabilityHistological features of vulnerabilitySymptomsImaging features of inflammationNeovascularization

hs-CRP++++− −NANA++− − −− −NA
Fibrinogen++++NANANANANA
sVCAM-1NA+NA+NANANA
ESRNA+NANANANANA
IL-6NA++++NA++−+NA
S100A12NA+NANANA+NANA
White blood cells+++NANANANANA
MonocytesNA++NANANANANA
TNFNANA++NANANANA
Pentraxin-3NANA+NANANANANA
L-selectinNANA+NANANANANA
NeopterinNANA+NANANANANA
E-cadherinNANANA+NANANANA
ST2NANANANA+NANANA
MMP-1NANANANA+NANANA
MMP-3NANANANANANA+−NA
MMP-7NANANANA++NANA
MMP-9NANANANANANA+−NA
MMP-10+NANANANANANANA
TIMP-1NANANANA+NANANA
IL-8NANANANA+NANANA
CD36NANANANANA+NANA
suPARNANANANANA++NANA
s-RAGENANANANANA+NANA
MyeloperoxidaseNANANANANANA+NA
Neutrophil countNANANA+NANANANA
CD3+HLA-DR+ T cellsNA+NANANANANANA
CD20+CD69+ B cellsNA+NANANANANANA
CD19+CD86+ B cellsNANA+NANA+NANA
Leukocyte telomere length+NANANANA+NANA
Memory T cells+NANANANANANANA
CD3+CD4+CD45RA−CD45RO+CCR7− T effector memory cells+NANANANANANANA
CD16+ monocytes+NANANANANANANA
CD146NANANANANANANA+
VEGFNANANANANANANA+
CD14++CD16−CCR2+ monocytesNANANANANANANA+
Lp-PLA2NA+NANANANANA
FABP4NANANANANA+NANA

A plus (+) represents a strong clinical evidence in favor of the association, while a minus (−) represents the failure of a well-designed study to establish an association. NA: not available.