The Level of Circulating Microparticles in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background/Aims To assess the correlation between microparticles (MPs) and subgroups of coronary heart disease (CHD), including stable angina (SA), unstable angina (UA), and myocardial infarction (MI). Methods A literature search was carried out systematically to identify available case-control studies. The level of MPs was compared and MPs' merged standardized mean differences (SMDs) were pooled for the meta-analysis. Results Six studies met the inclusion criteria and were used for systematic review and meta-analysis. The level of MPs was higher in patients with CHD than that in the NS (normal subjects) group (SMD 2.28; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.70-2.85;P = 0.000), and was also significantly different in subgroups of CHD (UA vs SA: SMD 2.35, 95% CI 1.56-3.14,P = 0.000; MI vs SA: SMD 3.08, 95% CI 2.07-4.09,P = 0.000; MI vs UA: SMD 0.83, 95% CI 0.41-1.26,P = 0.000). The similar results were also found in subgroups analyses of CD31(+)CD42(-)endothelium-derived microparticles (EMPs) and CD144(+)EMPs. Conclusion The level of MPs, especially CD31(+)CD42(-)EMPs and CD144(+)EMPs, had an increasing trend with the degree of CHD: NS<SA<UA<MI, suggesting that MPs might be a potential biomarker to identify SA, UA, and MI.