Visual Abstract - Circulating PCSK9 and Risk of Myocardial Infarction: The HUNT Study in Norway: 10.1016/j.jacbts.2016.06.007
2019-06-13T10:59:00Z (GMT)
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• The enzyme PCSK9 binds to the hepatic LDL receptor and targets it for a intracellular degradation, leading to decreased number of LDL receptor on cells and reduced removal of circulating LDL cholesterol.
• The usefulness of circulating PCSK9 as a marker for risk of coronary heart disease in the general population remains unclear.
• In this large prospective population study, serum levels of PCSK9 were modestly associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction in age- and sex-adjusted analysis. However, after adjustment for LDL-C and other lipids, the strength of the association was largely attenuated.
• Our findings suggest that serum levels of PCSK9 do not contribute additional useful information in cardiovascular risk assessment beyond the information provided by lipid measurements.
• Moreover, our results are consistent with the biological understanding of PCSK9 and of its effect on atherosclerosis being mainly mediated by changes in LDL- receptor function.