Ethnic/racial differences in circulating markers of angiogenesis and their association with cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular disease

摘要

Objective: To determine (a) whether ethnic/racial differences exist in circulating markers of angiogenesis (Angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1), Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), soluble Tie-2 receptor (sTie-2) and Angiogenin) between South Asian (SA; from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh); Black African-Caribbean and White (W) ethnic groups, and (b) associations between these markers in stable cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors. Patients and methods: We recruited 243 subjects (82 SA, 84 Black and 77 W) with symptomatic and clinically confirmed CVD (n = 108), risk factor controls (with ≥ 1 cardiovascular risk factor, e.g. smoking, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidaemia, hypertension) and with ankle brachial pressure index > 1) (n = 64) and healthy controls free of CVD and risk factors (n = 56). Angiogenic markers were measured by enzyme linked immunoassay. Results: In healthy controls, angiogenin was higher in SA and Black subjects, compared to Whites (p < 0.05). sTie-2 correlated inversely with angiogenin (p = 0.001), was higher in women (p = 0.029) and was lower in smokers (p = 0.007). Overall, age (p = 0.001) was the only independent factor associated with angiopoietin-1. Angiogenin (p = 0.01) and SBP (p = 0.014) were both independently higher in the Black group compared to the White group. Conclusions: Ethnic, racial, and demographic differences are evident in certain circulating markers of angiogenesis. With the exception of an effect of smoking on sTie-2, these differences are not influenced by the presence of other risk factors, nor the presence of stable cardiovascular disease.