BYGLICAN EXPRESSION, ARTERIAL STIFFNESS AND PROATHEROGENIC PROFILE IN FORMER SMOKERS AFTER 1-YEAR SMOKE CESSATION

Background. Young cigarette smokers may already present early signs of vascular inflammation and damage; Biglycan (BGN) has been shown to play a critical role in the initiation and progression of vascular lesions, also in young smokers. We investigate whether after smoke cessation monocyte BGN expression is reduced; moreover, we evaluated any improvement of pro-atherogenic profile and of arterial stiffness (AS), and their relationships with BGN. Methods. We had been already enrolled 251 young people who had decided to quit smoking; of these, 71 have completed the 12 months observation period. At enrollment and 12 months later we evaluated anthropometrics, laboratory profile, pulse wave velocity (PWV), augmentation index (AIx), carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), BGN expression. Results. After 12 months smoke abstinence we found a significant decrease of inflammatory markers (Hs-CRP: -23.3%; Fibrinogen: -11.8%; IL-6: -9.2%), and increased HDL-C levels (+9.3%); blood pressure values were also slightly reduced. PWV (-6.55%) and AIx (-20.1%) appeared to be improved; cIMT remained unchanged. BGN expression appeared to be reduced (-42.8% relative reduction). BGN reduction appeared to be correlated with fibrinogen and IL-6 reduction, and also with PWV reduction. However, reduced PWV and AIx appeared to be not dependent on Δ BGN by the multiple regression analysis. Conclusion. After 1 year of abstinence the levels of IL-6, CRP, Fibrinogen, HDL-C, and BGN expression, as well AS indices, are significantly improved as compared to baseline. This is the first evidence that removing exposure to a well-known cardiovascular risk factor, such as cigarette smoking, even the expression of monocyte BGN is significantly reduced.