Effect of statins on monocyte and oxidized low density lipoprotein in patients with acute coronary syndrome

Objective To investigate the effect of statins on the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1(ICAM-1) in peripheral blood monocytes(PBMs),and the level of oxidized low density lipoprotein(ox-LDL) and high sensitive C-reactive protein(hs-CRP) in patients with acute coronary syndrome.Methods Sixty-eight patients with coronary heart disease were divided into two groups,namely the acute coronary syndrome group(n=38) and the stable angina pectoris group(n=30).Twenty patients with non-coronary heart disease were used as the control group.Blood samples were collected before and after statins treatment at 12 weeks.ICAM-1 expression and monocyte ratio in white cell were measured by flow cytometry.The levels ox-LDL and hs-CRP were detected by ELISA and nephelometry,respectively.Results The concentration of total cholesterol(TC) and low density lipoprotein(LDL-C) significantly decreased in the coronary syndrome and stable anginor pectoris groups after statins treatment.The levels of monocyte ratio,ox-LDL and hs-CRP in the acute coronary syndrome group were significantly higher than those in the stable anginor pectoris and control groups before statins treatment(P0.05).The expression of ICAM-1 in monocytes in the coronary heart disease was higher than that of the control group.However,there was no significant difference among the three groups after statins treatment(P0.05).The levels of monocyte ratio,ICAM-1,ox-LDL and hs-CRP significantly decreased in the acute coronary syndrome group after statins treatment(P0.01).The expression of ICAM-1 in the stable anginor pectoris group decreased after statins treatment(P0.05),but it showed no significant difference in the control group after statins treatment(P0.05).Conclusion The effect of statins is related to decreasing the level of lipid,inhibiting inflammatory reaction of monocytes and stabilizing atherosclerotic plaque.