Comparison of inflammatory biomarkers for detection of coronary stenosis in patients with stable coronary artery disease

Erdogan, Turan/0000-0003-2986-5457; Cetin, Mustafa/0000-0001-6342-436X; yilmaz, adnan/0000-0003-4842-1173WOS: 000319223400015PubMed: 23329531BACKGROUND: the objective of the current study was to evaluate the role of various inflammatory biomarkers in detection of coronary stenosis in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) and healthy people. METHODS: A total of 111 patients with stable coronary artery disease, and 66 healthy subjects were enrolled in the study. Serum levels of lipoprotein-associated-phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA(2)), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) were measured to compare patient and control groups. RESULTS: Baseline characteristics were similar between healthy and patient groups, with the exception of age. ANCOVA and log-transformed data of inflammatory biomarkers revealed that, Lp-PLA(2) (p < 0,001) and hs-CRP (p < 0,05) levels in all patient groups were significantly higher than in the control group. Conversely, there was no significant difference in MPO levels among groups. CONCLUSIONS: in stable CAD patients, serum Lp-PLA(2) levels are more compatible than hsCRP and MPO levels in the detection of coronary stenosis.PfizerPfizer; ServierServier; Astra ZenecaAstraZenecaThis study was supported by the drug companies Pfizer, Servier and Astra Zeneca. the Authors thank all of the companies that helped during this investigation

Direct Cytosolic Delivery of Citraconylated Proteins

Current intracellular protein delivery strategies face the challenge of endosomal entrapment and consequent degradation of protein cargo. Methods to efficiently deliver proteins directly to the cytosol have the potential to overcome this hurdle. Here, we report the use of a straightforward approach of protein modification using citraconic anhydride to impart an overall negative charge on the proteins, enabling them to assemble with positively charged nano vectors. This strategy uses anhydride-modified proteins to electrostatically form polymer–protein nanocomposites with a cationic guanidinium-functionalized polymer. These supramolecular self-assemblies demonstrated the efficient cytosolic delivery of modified proteins through a membrane fusion-like mechanism. This approach was validated on five cell lines and seven proteins as cargo. Retention of protein function was confirmed through efficient cell killing via the intracellular enzymatic activity of RNase A. This platform provides a versatile, straightforward, and single-step method of protein modification and efficient direct cytosolic protein delivery