Angiogenesis and local immunity tissue markers in patients with coronary artery disease and aortic stenosis

In the cases of coronary artery disease (CAD) and aortic stenosis (AS), effective treatment and prognosis can be achieved with analysis of different cardiac tissue markers, particularly looking at the blood vessel endothelium and local resistance of cardiomyocytes to the pathological process. Despite numerous tissue markers being considered for diagnosis, cardiomyopathies still occur at normal biomarker levels. This study aims to investigate additional biomarkers (CD34, galectin-10, ICAM-1 and VCAM-1) in the cardiac tissue of patients with CAD and AS. Tissue samples were obtained from the left auricula during ten cardiac valve surgeries; five control samples were from children – the archive material from the Institute of Anatomy and Anthropology at Riga Stradiņš University. In addition to routine staining, VCAM-1, CD34, ICAM-1, and galectin- 10 were detected immunohistochemically and evaluated semiquantitatively, followed by nonparametric statistical analysis. These findings suggest that the endocardial endothelium remains an active site of remodelling, as indicated by the upregulation of both CD34 and ICAM-1 expression. The decreased expression of CD34, ICAM-1, and VCAM-1 in the blood vessel endothelium may reflect endothelial dysfunction and a compromised vascular repair mechanism.