Clinical & Experimental Cardiology
Open Access

Abstract

Soluble Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-products Levels in Chronic Heart Failure and Its Correlation to Left Ventricular Ejection Function

Colomba Falcone, Sara Bozzini, Angela D’Angelo, Maria Paola Buzzi, Rossana Totaro, Rossana Falcone and Gabriele Pelissero

The Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-products (RAGE), a multi-ligand member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, is a ubiquitous receptor present on epithelial, neuronal, vascular and inflammatory cells. AGEs have been implicated in vascular and myocardial dysfunction and in development of atherosclerosis but little are known about the role of the AGE-RAGE system in heart failure. The main objective of the study was to assess sRAGE plasma levels in patients with Chronic Heart Failure (CHF) focusing on patients with severe reduction of left ventricle function. We measured sRAGE plasma levels in 389 patients with CHF and 319 stable patients with Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). Patients with CHF had significantly lower values of soluble RAGE in respect to stable CAD population. The linear regression analysis showed that LVEF (Left Ventricularv Ejection Fraction) significantly correlated with sRAGE plasma concentrations; sRAGE plasma levels were significantly lower in patients with severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction compared with those with ejection Fraction ≥ 30%. Our data support a positive correlation between soluble RAGE plasma levels and left ventricular ejection fraction in the CHF population; we demonstrated that in subjects with CHF and severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction, soluble RAGE plasma concentrations were significantly lower in comparison with patients with moderate left ventricular dysfunction. This study suggests the possibility that soluble RAGE can be considered a new element to be used in prognostic stratification in patients affected by CHF.