Objective: There are no data on the relationship between serum paraoxonase-3 (PON3) concentration and atherosclerosis in humans. Our aim was to investigate possible associations, using recently developed methods, in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) or coronary artery disease (CAD).
Methods: We studied 118 PAD and 72 CAD patients and 175 healthy volunteers. Serum PON3 was determined by in-house ELISA using polyclonal antibodies generated against a synthetic peptide with a sequence specific to PON3. Polymorphisms of the PON3 promoter were analysed by the Iplex Gold MassArray™ method.
Results: There was a significant increase in serum PON3 concentration in both groups of patients with respect to the control group. In PAD patients, we observed significant positive correlations between PON3, insulin levels and HOMA index. These associations were not observed in CAD. There were significant positive associations between serum PON3 and β-2-microglobulin, CCL2 and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in CAD patients, but not in PAD. We did not find any significant differences in PON3 gene promoter polymorphisms and their haplotypes between patients and controls, indicating that associations were not genetically determined.
Conclusion: In both atherosclerotic phenotypes, serum PON3 concentration was increased, but this was associated with decreased insulin sensitivity in PAD and with inflammation in CAD.
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