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European Heart Journal Advance Access published online on July 4, 2008
European Heart Journal, doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehn295
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Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2008. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Epidermal fatty-acid-binding protein: a new circulating biomarker associated with cardio-metabolic risk factors and carotid atherosclerosis

Dennis C.Y. Yeung1,5, Yu Wang3,5, Aimin Xu1,5, Stephen C.W. Cheung6, Nelson M.S. Wat1, Daniel Y.T. Fong2, Carol H.Y. Fong1, M.T. Chau6, Pak C. Sham4 and Karen S.L. Lam1,5,*

1 Department of Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, 102 Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
2 Department of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, China
3 Department of Pharmacology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, China
4 Department of Psychiatry, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, China
5 Research Centre of Heart, Brain, Hormone, and Healthy Aging, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, China
6 Department of Radiology, Queen Mary Hospital, HKSAR, China

Received 7 December 2007; revised 5 June 2008; accepted 11 June 2008.

* Corresponding author. Tel: +86 852 2855 4769, Fax: +86 852 2816 2187, Email: ksllam{at}hkucc.hku.hk

Aims: Epidermal fatty-acid-binding protein (E-FABP) is highly homologous to adipocyte FABP (A-FABP), which mediates obesity-related metabolic syndrome (MetS), diabetes and atherosclerosis in animals. Combined deficiency of E-FABP and A-FABP protects against the MetS and atherosclerosis in mice. This study investigated the association of serum E-FABP with cardio-metabolic risk factors and carotid atherosclerosis in humans.

Methods and results: The presence of E-FABP in human plasma was detected by tandem mass spectrometry. Serum E-FABP levels, determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 479 Chinese subjects (age: 55.4 ± 13.5 years; M/F: 232/247), correlated positively (P < 0.05 to <0.001, age-adjusted) with parameters of adiposity, adverse lipid profiles, serum insulin, A-FABP, and C-reactive protein levels and were higher in subjects with the MetS (P < 0.001 vs. no MetS). The association of E-FABP with the MetS was independent of A-FABP. Furthermore, serum E-FABP correlated with carotid intima-media thickness (IMT; P < 0.001) and was independently associated with carotid IMT in men (adjusted P = 0.03).

Conclusion: E-FABP is a new circulating biomarker associated with increased cardio-metabolic risk. It may contribute to the development of the MetS and carotid atherosclerosis in humans, independent of the effect of A-FABP.

Key Words: Fatty-acid-binding proteins • Atherosclerosis • Obesity • Metabolic syndrome • Risk factors


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