Immunohistochemical Expression of CD106 and CD105 in Atherosclerotic Plaques of Human Coronary Arteries (A Post-Mortem Study)

Abstract

SUMMARY C ardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the Western world. Among these diseases, atherosclerosis is the main cause of the enormous rates of morbidity and mortality. It was proven that coronary artery diseases are the main cause of sudden cardiac death in Egyptian population; even it may be the first and only symptom. Over the past years, a prominent role of inflammation and neovascularization in atherosclerosis has gained an increased interest in all stages of this disease, from the initial lesion to the end stage thrombotic complications. The aim of this study is to study and assess the expression of CD106 (Vascular cell Adhesion Molecule-1 / VCAM-1) and CD105 (Endoglin) in variable atherosclerotic plaques of human coronary arteries in order to correlate its relationship with disease progression. The study included 80 coronary artery segments obtained from 46 autopsy cases (36 hearts affected with atherosclerosis and 10 normal hearts). All segments were collected from cases admitted to the pathology department of the Medico-Legal Administration, Egypt, during the years 2012 & 2013. Sections were taken from the heart coronaries (Anterior Descending branch of left coronary artery/ AD, Circumflex branch of left coronary artery/ C, and Right coronary artery/ R). Tissue sections taken were stained with routine hematoxylin-eosin. All the histological sections were examined microscopically then typing of atherosclerotic plaques was done using the Modified American Heart Association (AHA) Classification of atherosclerosis. The 80 segments were classified into a normal group (20 segments) and 3 stenotic groups which were classified into: mild (20 segments), moderate (20 segments) and severe (20 segments) stenosis. For immunohistochemistry, Anti-CD106 and Anti-CD105 were used. Human placental tissue was used as positive controls for both CD106 and CD105. As regards the age in our study, the mean age decade in the normal group was 3rd decade; while in the stenotic groups collectively (2nd, 3rd and 4th groups), the mean age decade was 5th decade. It was noted that the most prevalent decade in the first group was the 3rd decade; in the second and third group, the most prevalent decade was the 4th decade; while the 10th decade was the most prevalent decade in the forth group. The male to female ratio in our cases was 3:2 in the normal/control group; and 7:2 in cases of the stenotic groups. The most common affected coronary artery with atherosclerosis in the stenotic cases was (AD), it represented 45% of segments in 2nd group, 55% of segments in both 3rd group and 4th group; while in the normal group, 50% of segments were from (C) followed by the (AD) (25%) and (R)