Pentraxin 3 Levels as a Marker of Chronic Inflammation in Patients With Metabolic Syndrome

Abstract

Background: Pentraxin 3 (PTX3), an acute phase protein, is involved in chronic inflammation and does increase in atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is characterized by chronic inflammation. We aimed to test the hypothesis of whether pentraxin 3 levels are high and do involve in chronic inflammation in patients with MetS. For that purpose, we investigated the association of PTX3 levels with chronic inflammation and its relation with metabolic parameters in patients with MetS compared to the patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and healthy control cases. Methods: We studied 22 non-diabetic adults = 20 years of age. Patient population consisted of 27 cases with MetS diagnosed according to the IDF (International Diabetes Federation) definition (mean age 47.70 +/- 8.92). There were two control groups. The first group consisted of diseased control cases with rheumatoid arthritis (n = 28, mean age 45.93 +/- 13.18), and the second one consisted of healthy control cases (n = 27, mean age 46.18 +/- 9.27). Study groups were compared with demographic, anthropometric and biochemistry data, and serum PTX3 levels. Correlation analysis was used for determining the relation between PTX3 levels and cardiometabolic parameters. PTX3 levels were measured by ELISA method using Human Pentraxin-3/TSG-14 kit. Results: Mean serum PTX3 levels were 0.73 +/- 0.53 ng/mL, 0.70 +/- 0.67 ng/mL and 0.78 +/- 0.65 ng/mL in the patients, diseased control, and healthy control groups, respectively. PTX3 levels were similar between the groups (P > 0.05). PTX3 levels and cardiometabolic parameters were not significantly correlated (P > 0.05). Conclusion: These results do not confirm that PTX3 levels do increase as a marker of chronic inflammation in patients with MetS.