Human CXCL10 identified as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease

As reported recently in PLos One, plasma concentrations of inflammatory proteins can serve as biomarkers for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Previous studies had linked the T cell chemokine CXCL10/IP-10 to hypertension and heart failure, but failed to achieve the statistical significance necessary for its use as a biomarker for human disease. A study published last year in PLoS One of CVD high-risk minority populations in the Southeastern U.S. revealed a strong correlation between plasma CXCL10 concentration and a number of other risk factors (e.g. age, smoking status, HDL cholesterol). With over 30,000 participants and hundreds of CVD-related deaths and other incident health events, this analysis was sufficiently powered to indicate that elevated CXCL10 levels are predictive of increased risk of heart failure or death in African Americans. The biostatistical analysis by Leavitt et al. reinforces the potential diagnostic and prognostic value of quantitative measurements of circulating chemokine concentrations. Human CXCL10 is one of three chemokines (along with CXCL9 and CXCL11) that recruit inflammatory T cells by activating the CXCR3 receptor. All three chemokines are manufactured by Protein Foundry and available in tagged and untagged versions.