Annexin V and anti-Annexin V antibodies: two interesting aspects in acute myocardial infarction

BACKGROUND: Myocardial infarction is the combined result of environmental factors and personal predispositions. Prothrombotic factors might play an important role in this phenomenon. Annexin V (ANV) is a calcium-dependent glycoprotein widely present in various tissues exerting a potent anticoagulant effect in vitro by reducing plaque adhesion and aggregation. Anti-annexin V antibodies (aANVAs) are detected in various diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and anti-phospholipid antibody syndrome. The study of ANV in Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) might shed light on hypercoagulability mechanisms in the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndromes. This study was conducted to investigate the association of plasma ANV, aANVAs and anti-cardiolipin antibodies (aCLAs) with AMI. METHODS: This study recruited 45 patients with the diagnosis of AMI according to WHO criteria in their first 24 hours of admission. 36 matched individuals were studied as the control group with normal coronary artery angiography. Plasma levels of ANV, aANVAs and aCLAs were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and the results were compared. RESULTS: Plasma ANV levels in the patients with AMI on admission were significantly lower than those in the control group (p = 0.002). Positive test for aANVAs were found to be present in a significant number of our patients (p = 0.004). The studied groups were similar in their rate of patients with positive aCLAs tests. ANV, aANVAs and aCLAs were not correlated with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, sex, age and smoking. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that low plasma ANV levels along with positive aANVAs tests in patients with AMI are indicative of hypercoagulable state that is not related to the traditional cardiovascular risk factors.