Abstract
Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) has been called a “brand-new protein in a traditional family” because the pentraxin family includes C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum protein A (SAP), and the past three years have seen numerous clinical papers published. Unlike CRP, PTX3 is expressed in atherosclerotic lesions that predominantly involve macrophages, neutrophils, dendritic cells, or smooth muscle cells. Interestingly, among more than 6,000 human genes pitavastatin suppresses PTX3 gene expression most markedly in human endothelial cells. Therefore we expect PTX3 to be a new biomarker for inflammatory vascular disease. To be an ideal biomarker, PTX3 must satisfy the following criteria : 1) the ability to standardize the assay and to control the variability of the measurement;2) independence from established risk factors;3) association with cardiovascular disease clinical end points in observational studies and clinical trials;4) presence of population norms to guide interpretation of results;5) ability to improve the overall prediction beyond that of traditional risk factors. If these criteria can be met, PTX3 may be useful as a new biomarker in inflammatory vascular disease.
