Decreased hepcidin-25 level as a predictor of poor prognosis in acute coronary syndrome patients

Abstract

Background: The peptide hormone hepcidin-25 is known as a type-II acute phase protein in patients with chronic inflammatory conditions and it has a central role in iron homeostasis as well as in anemia, inflammation and hypoxia. Atherosclerosis is widely accepted as a chronic inflammatory disease. Herein, we evaluated whether hepcidin-25 level has a prognostic role in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Material and Method: Forty-eight patients with ACS admitted to the coronary care unit of our hospital were included in Group 1, 19 patients without any significant coronary artery disease were included in Group 2 and 20 healthy subjects as control were included in Group 3. Serum hepcidin-25 levels were measured with Hepcidin ELISA kits. Results: Patients with ACS were followed-up for up to 24 months after admission with regard to cardiac events including death, myocardial infarction and revascularisa- tion. There was no significant difference between the baseline biochemical and clinical characteristics of Group 1 and Group 2. Hepcidin-25 level was lower in Group 1 when compared with other Groups (192± 74 ng/mL, 296 ±104 ng/mL, 303.8±92.1, p<0.01). Hepcidin-25 level was found significantly lower in patients who developed a cardiac event compared to those who did not (140 ± 78 ng/ml vs 208±74 ng/ml, p<0.05) but ferritin and hsCRP were similar. Conclusions . Reduced serum hepcidin-25 levels might predict poor outcome in patients with ACS.