Predictive Value of Oxidized Low

Lipid oxidation is a definite feature of atherosclerosis, and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) is not only highly immunogenic but toxic to several cell types. Beta-2-glycoprotein-I (β2GPI) dampens oxLDL toxicity by forming binary oxLDL/β2GPI complexes. We evaluated whether circulating oxLDL/β2GPI complexes are associated to atherosclerosis-related events (ARE) and to venous thromboembolism (VTE). In a cross-sectional case–control study, cases were (a) 57 consecutive patients (male/female [M/F] 33/24, mean age 57 [10] years) attending a thrombosis unit for ARE (myocardial infarction [MI] n = 20, peripheral vascular disease n = 7, and ischemic strokes n = 30); (b) 52 consecutive patients (M/F 22/30, mean age 55 [17] years) attending the same unit for unprovoked (VTE); (c) normal controls comprised 90 participants (M/F 35/55, mean age 41 [15] years); and (d) oxLDL/β2GPI complexes were measured by immunoassay and resulting levels divided into quartiles. The odds ratio (OR) of ARE was greater in the fourth and second quartiles than in the first quartile (8.5 and 6.0, respectively); the OR of developing MI was greatest in the fourth quartile (17.8). By multivariable analysis with age, sex, smoking, lipid status, statin, and ARE phenotypes as independent variables and oxLDL/β2GPI as the dependent variable, only MI predicted oxLDL/β2GPI (P < .0001). OxLDL/β2GPI may be regarded as a marker of ARE, in particular of MI