Regulation of EMMPRIN (CD147) on monocyte subsets in patients with symptomatic coronary artery disease.

Introduction: The role of individual monocyte subsets in inflammatory cardiovascular diseases is insufficiently understood. Although the Extracellular Matrix Metalloproteinase Inducer (EMMPRIN) regulates important processes for inflammation such as MMP-release, its expression and regulation on monocyte subsets has not been characterized.
Materials and Methods: In this clinical study, blood was obtained from 80 patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD), 49 with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and 34 healthy controls. Monocytes were divided into 3 subsets: CD14(++)CD16(-) (low), CD14(++)CD16(+) (intermediate), CD14(+)CD16(++) (high) according to phenotypic markers analyzed by flow cytometry. Surface expression of EMMPRIN was evaluated and compared with CD36 and CD47 expression.
Results: In all patients, EMMPRIN expression was significantly different among monocyte subsets with the highest expression on "classical" CD14(++)CD16(-) monocytes. EMMPRIN was upregulated on all monocyte subsets in patients with AMI as compared to patients with stable CAD. Notably, neither CD47 nor CD36 revealed a significant difference in patients with AMI compared to patients with stable CAD.
Conclusion: EMMPRIN could serve as a marker for classical monocytes, which is upregulated in patients with acute myocardial infarction.
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