Higher Plasma Thrombospondin-1 Levels in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease and Diabetes Mellitus

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) is associated with atherosclerosis in animals with diabetes mellitus (DM). But, no study has investigated the role of TSP-1 in human atherosclerosis. This study investigated the relationship among plasma TSP-1 concentration, DM, and coronary artery disease (CAD). SUBJECTS AND METHODS The study involved 374 consecutive subjects with suspected CAD, who had undergone coronary angiography to evaluate effort angina. Patients were divided into four groups as follows: DM(-) and CAD(-), DM(-) and CAD(+), DM(+) and CAD(-), and DM (+) and CAD(+). RESULTS We found that plasma TSP-1 levels were higher in patients with DM(+) and CAD(+) (n=103) than those in other patients (n=271) (p