ArticleBiomolecules2022
PCSK9 Plasma Levels Are Associated with Mechanical Vascular Impairment in Familial Hypercholesterolemia Subjects without a History of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease: Results of Six-Month Add-On PCSK9 Inhibitor Therapy.
Article in Biomolecules, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of combining PCSK9 inhibitors with statins on major adverse cardiovascular events and lipid levels in patients after percutaneous coronary intervention: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of PCSK9 inhibitors, potent statins, and their combinations for reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in hyperlipidemia patients: a systematic network meta-analysis.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of different statin-based lipid-lowering therapies on stabilization and regression of carotid plaque: a randomized open-label trial.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- PCSK9 inhibitors reduces arterial stiffness in patients with acute coronary syndrome.Journal of medical biochemistry · 2025Article
- Association between serum PCSK9 and coronary heart disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.Diabetology & metabolic syndrome · 2023Article
- PCSK9 as an Atherothrombotic Risk Factor.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Review
- Emerging Circulating Biomarkers in Atherosclerosis: From Molecular Mechanisms to Therapeutic Strategies.Biomolecules · 2022Article
- The Importance of Arterial Stiffness Assessment in Patients with Familial Hypercholesterolemia.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
- The relationship between dyslipidemia and inflammation among adults in east coast China: A cross-sectional study.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type-9 (PCSK9) is a key regulator of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) metabolism involved in the degradation of the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) through complex mechanisms. The PCSK9 plasma levels change according to lipid lowering therapy (LLT). Few data exist regarding the role of PCSK9 in vascular damage. We aimed to evaluate the impact of PCSK9 plasma levels on pulse wave velocity (PWV) and the effect of PCSK9 inhibitors (PCSK9-i) on circulating PCSK9 and PWV in a cohort of heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) subjects. In a previous step, HeFH patients were enrolled and LLT was prescribed according to guidelines. Biochemical analyses and PWV assessment were performed at baseline (T0), after 6 months of high-efficacy statin plus ezetimibe (T1) and after 6 months of PCSK9-i (T2). The PCSK9 levels were evaluated in 26 selected HeFH subjects at the three time points and 26 healthy subjects served as controls for the reference value for PCSK9 plasma levels. The PWV values decreased at each time point in HeFH subjects after LLT starting (8.61 ± 2.4 m/s, −8.7%; p < 0.001 vs. baseline at T1, and 7.9 ± 2.1 m/s, −9.3%; p < 0.001 vs. both T1 and baseline) and it was correlated to PCSK9 (r = 0.411, p = 0.03). The PCSK9 levels increased on statin/EZE therapy (+42.8% at T1) while it decreased after PCSK9-i was started (−34.4% at T2). We noted a significant relationship between PCSK9 levels and PWV changes at T1 and T2. In conclusion, PCSK9 levels were associated with baseline PWV values in HeFH subjects; moreover, we found that PCSK9 level variations seemed to be correlated with PWV changes on LLT. A longer observation time and wider sample size are needed to assess the potential role of PCSK9 plasma levels on the vascular function and remodelling, and to clarify the effects of PCSK9-i in these pathways.
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