Pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A and the vulnerable plaque

Biomark Med. 2014;8(8):1033-47. doi: 10.2217/bmm.14.53.

Abstract

For more than a decade, pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) has been examined for its relation to acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and the vulnerable plaque. This review summarizes the current knowledge of plasma PAPP-A in relation to nonpregnant individuals focusing on patients with ACS, discusses its use as a possible biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis in ACS, briefly describes the challenges in different assay technologies and describes the effect of heparin administration on PAPP-A concentrations in plasma.

Keywords: ACS; PAPP-A; heparin; vulnerable plaque.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Acute Coronary Syndrome / diagnosis*
  • Acute Coronary Syndrome / metabolism*
  • Biomarkers / metabolism*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A / metabolism*
  • Prognosis

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A
  • PAPPA protein, human