Abstract:

AIM: To investigate the correlation between TMAO and Lp-PLA2 levels in patients with atherosclerotic ischemic stroke.  METHODS: Eighty patients with atherosclerotic ischemic stroke within 72 hours were selected as the case group, and another 40 healthy subjects were selected as the control group. The severity of carotid atherosclerosis was detected by color Doppler ultrasound. Serum TMAO and Lp-PLA2 were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Blood lipids were detected by Hitachi 7180 automatic biochemical analyzer. Levels of TMAO, Lp-PLA2 as well as the differences and correlations of blood lipids between the two groups were compared. RESULTS: The serum levels of TMAO and Lp-PLA2 were significantly higher than those of the control group (P<0.05). There was a positive correlation between TMAO and Lp-PLA2 (r=0.745,P<0.01). Lp-PLA2 showed no significant correlation with TC, TG, HDL-C and LDL-C (P>0.05). Levels of TMAO and Lp-PLA2 in carotid stenosis group were higher than those in moderate group and mild group (rs=0.763,P﹤0.01). There was a positive correlation between the level of TMAO and carotid artery stenosis (rs=0.732,P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Levels of TMAO and Lp-PLA2 in ischemic stroke patients with different severity of carotid atherosclerosis are different. TMAO and Lp-PLA2 are involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic ischemic stroke, which may be a potential serum marker of atherosclerotic ischemic stroke.

Key words: atherosclerosis, ischemic stroke, trimethylamine oxide, lipoprotein-related phospholipase