Assessment of Wnt1 and Wnt3a levels in patients with different phenotypes of stable coronary artery disease

Aim . To assess the Wnt1 and Wnt3a proteins levels in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) and different phenotypes of coronary artery lesions. Material and methods . A cross-sectional study included 72 patients with a verified diagnosis of stable CAD (aged 45-75 years) and 30 healthy individuals (control group) without cardiovascular risk factors. Based on coronary angiography or multispiral computed tomography, patients were divided into two groups. Group I — with non-obstructive coronary artery lesions (non-obCAD, n=30; including 11 men (37.5%); median age — 66.0 years [60.5; 71.5]; body mass index (BMI) 26.7 [25.5-30.2] kg/m²); Group II — with obstructive coronary artery lesions (obCAD, n=42; including 30 men (71.4%); median age — 64.0 years [57.0; 72.0]; BMI 27.4; [24.8; 29.8] kg/m²). The control group included 30 volunteers (10 men (33.3%); median age — 28.0 years [26.0; 37.0]; BMI 22.0; [20.9; 25.3] kg/m²). All patients underwent standard laboratory testing (complete blood count, biochemistry blood test, urinalysis) and instrumental diagnostics: electrocardiography (ECG), 24-hour Holter ECG monitoring, echocardiography, stress echocardiography and/or myocardial perfusion scintigraphy with a stress test. The levels of Wnt1 and Wnt3a proteins, endothelin-1, interleukins (IL-1β, IL-6), and C-reactive protein were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results . The CAD patient groups were comparable in age and BMI but differed in sex: the obstructive CAD group was predominantly male (71.4%), while females predominated (62.5%) in the non-obstructive CAD group. The level of Wnt1 protein was significantly higher in the obstructive CAD group (0.19 ng/ml) compared to both the non-obstructive CAD (0.15 ng/ml; p