Background: Light chains are proteins produced by plasma cells, also called light chains kappa and lambda, are tied together with other proteins (heavy chains) to form the intact immunoglobulins or antibodies. Recent studies have shown a possible role of combined free light chains (cFLC) as an inflammatory marker in patients with chronic heart failure (HF). HF is a significant contributor to overall mortality in the community, but often patients with chronic HF also have chronic renal failure, which could alter the concentration of cFLC.
Methods: We evaluated the FLC in patients with STEMI (n = 113), who were treated with primary angioplasty in the Cardiology Department of the University Hospital "Tor Vergata". For each patient during hospitalization we have determined blood concentration of cFLC, in addition to routine blood tests and we also performed an echocardiogram to evaluate cardiac function.
Results: We performed cFLC serum concentration in 113 patients with STEMI and observed that the cFLC concentration correlates with Left Ventricle Ejection Fraction (LVEF). We identified that the majority of patients (97%) who had one of the two positive light chains also had a reduced systolic function (LVEF <50%).
Conclusions: For the first time in this paper we highlight the increase of serum free light chains concentrations in acute ischemic heart failure in patients with STEMI and without kidney failure. The cFLC could be proposed as a new biomarker for left ventricle dysfunction, further studies are required to confirm these results.
Keywords: Free light chains; Heart failure; Left ventricle dysfunction; STEMI.
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