Plasma junctional adhesion molecule C levels are associated with the presence and severity of coronary artery disease

Background: Junctional adhesion molecule C (JAM-C) is a novel cell adhesion molecule that belongs to the immunoglobulin superfamily. Previous studies have demonstrated the up-regulation of JAM-C in atherosclerotic vessels in human and in spontaneous early lesions of apoe-/- mice. However, insufficient research is currently available on the association of plasma JAM-C levels with the presence and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD). Objectives: To explore the relationship between plasma JAM-C levels and CAD. Design and Methods: Plasma JAM-C levels were examined in 226 patients who underwent coronary angiography. Unadjusted and adjusted associations were assessed using logistic regression models. ROC curves were generated to examine the predictive performance of JAM-C. C-statistics, continuous net reclassification improvement (NRI) and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) were obtained to assess the incremental predictive value of JAM-C. Results: Plasma JAM-C levels were significantly higher in patients with CAD and high GS. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that JAM-C was independent predictor for the presence and severity of CAD [adjusted OR (95% CI): 2.04(1.28-3.26) and 2.81 (2.02-3.91), respectively]. The optimal cutoff value of plasma JAM-C levels for predicting the presence and severity of CAD was 98.26 pg/ml and 122.48 pg/ml, respectively. Adding JAM-C to the baseline model improved the global performance of the model [C-statistic increased from 0.853 to 0.872, p = 0.171; continuous NRI (95% CI): 0.522 (0.242-0.802), p < 0.001; IDI (95% CI): 0.042 (0.009-0.076), p = 0.014]. Conclusions: Our data showed that plasma JAM-C levels are associated with the presence and severity of CAD, suggesting that JAM-C may be a useful marker for the prevention and management of CAD.