Association Between Plasma Lipoprotein-Associated Phospholipase A2 and Plaque Vulnerability in TIA Patients With Unilateral Middle Cerebral Artery Stenosis

• Main Authors: Yiren Qin, Xiaoyan Qian, Xue Luo, Yuanfang Li, Dapeng Wang, Jianhua Jiang, Quanquan Zhang, Meirong Liu, Junhua Xiao, Yan Zhang, Shanshan Diao, Hongru Zhao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-10-01
• Series: Frontiers in Neurology
• Subjects: Lp-PLA2; transient ischemic attack; middle cerebral artery; ICAs; HRMRI
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fneur.2020.574036/full

Background: Plasma lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) has emerged as a novel biomarker for coronary atherosclerosis. However, the association between Lp-PLA2 and plaque vulnerability in atherosclerosis of cervicocerebral arteries remains poorly defined, especially for intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS). We aimed to investigate the association between Lp-PLA2 and plaque vulnerability in transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients with unilateral middle cerebral artery stenoses (MCAs).Methods: In this study, a total of 207 patients were enrolled from April 2017 to April 2020. Clinical data were collected, and MCA plaques were examined with high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HRMRI). Baseline characteristics of patients were collected during hospitalization. Statistical comparisons were performed using Pearson's chi-squared test, Mann–Whitney U test, and the Breslow–Day/Tarone's test for the determination of heterogeneity in different age strata. Multivariate binary logistic analysis was used to investigate the potential independent predictors that were highly correlated to plaque vulnerability.Results: The results showed that a high Lp-PLA2 level (>221 ng/ml) was associated with plaque vulnerability in TIA patients with unilateral MCAs. High Lp-PLA2 was independently associated with plaque vulnerability in patients ≤ 60 years old [multivariate adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 9.854; 95% CI, 2.458–39.501] but not in patients >60 years old (multivariate adjusted OR = 1.901; 95% CI, 0.640–5.650). Predictors of plaque vulnerability in different age strata were also different.Conclusion: Lp-PLA2 levels may be correlated to plaque vulnerability in TIA patients with unilateral MCAs and might be a diagnostic biomarker for plaque vulnerability in this kind of patients, especially for ones aged ≤ 60 years old.