Comparison of frequency of interferon-gamma-positive CD4+ T cells before and after percutaneous coronary intervention and the effect of statin therapy in patients with stable angina pectoris.

We investigated the effect of statin therapy on T-cell activation in patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention by using flow cytometric analysis. The increased frequency of interferon-gamma-positive CD4(+) T cells after percutaneous coronary intervention was significant in the group treated without statins but not in the group treated with statins.

Increased serum matrix metalloproteinase-1 concentration predicts advanced left ventricular remodeling in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is one of the major prognostic factors after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) is an enzyme responsible for extracellular collagen degradation and remodeling. The present study investigated whether the concentration of serum MMP-1 was associated with the LVEF after AMI. Blood was sampled on admission, and at 24 h, 3 days, 7 days, 2 weeks and 4 weeks in 24 patients with their first AMI. Left ventriculography was performed 4 weeks after the onset of AMI and the LVEF was calculated by center line method. MMP-1 concentrations were higher at 7 days and at 2 weeks than on admission (p<0.001), and at 7 days (r=-0.655, p=0.0005) and at 2 weeks (r=-0.636, p=0.0008) were negatively correlated with the LVEF. The patients with AMI were divided into high and low LVEF groups according to the results of left ventriculography. Although there were no differences in the clinical characteristics between the 2 LVEF groups, the MMP-1 concentrations at 24 h (p<0.01), 7 days (p<0.01) and 2 weeks (p<0.05) were lower in the high LVEF group than in low LVEF group. A high concentration of MMP-1 at the subacute phase after AMI predicts advanced left ventricular remodeling.