Neutrophil Gelatinase-associated Lipocalin Concentration in Coronary Artery Disease

Inflammation is considered to play a major role in coronary artery disease (CAD) which accounts for high morbidity and mortality rates in the western world. Several lines of evidence support a role for neutrophils in the development of atherosclerosis and its progression.

Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), also known as Lipocalin-2, is a 25-kDa secretory glycoprotein that was originally identified in mouse kidney cells and human neutrophil granules. This protein has been used as a marker of neutrophil activation in several studies, while recently it was found to be an inflammatory marker closely related to obesity and its metabolic complications.

Recently, lactoferrin, a protein which co-localizes with NGAL in the specific granules of human neutrophils has been proposed as a more dynamic marker of neutrophil activation compared to the widely used myeloperoxidase in patients with CAD.

In line with the accumulating evidence, this study is designed to investigate the relationship between serum NGAL concentration and the presence or the severity of coronary artery disease according to coronary angiography.