Oncostatin M is a novel biomarker for coronary artery disease – A possibility as a screening tool of silent myocardial ischemia for diabetes mellitus

OBJECTIVE: Oncostatin M (OSM) is an inflammatory cytokine of the interleukin-6 family which plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Therefore, we tested our hypothesis that serum OSM levels are increased in patients with coronary artery diseases (CAD). METHODS AND RESULTS: Serum OSM level was measured by sandwich technique immunoassay in 315 consecutive patients and who underwent coronary angiography at the International University of Health and Welfare Hospital from April 2019 to March 2021. A diagnosis of CAD was made in 169 patients. Serum OSM levels were significantly higher in patients with significant coronary stenosis compared to those without it. [123.0 ± 46.7 pg/mL (n = 169) vs. 98.3 ± 47.9 pg/mL (n = 146), p < 0.001]. A positive correlation was noted between serum OSM levels and severity and complexity of coronary stenosis. Importantly, the coronary revascularization significantly decreased the serum OSM levels. We furthermore detected a positive correlation between serum OSM levels and HbA1c levels. Finally, our data suggested that 120 pg/mL of serum OSM was the potential cutoff value for screening of silent myocardial ischemia related with diabetic mellitus (DM). CONCLUSION: Serum OSM can be a novel biomarker for CAD and may be useful for the screening of asymptomatic CAD in patients with DM.