Plasma SCUBE1 Levels Are Decreased in Patients With WSPH Group 1 PAH
(A) Plasma was collected from the pulmonary arteries of patients with World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension (WSPH) group 1 (n = 62) at the time of right heart catheterization. Peripheral plasma samples were collected from patients without PH (non-PH) (n = 56), patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (n = 39), and acute lung injury (ALI) (n = 39). SCUBE1 protein was quantified and compared across cohorts. (B) SCUBE1 protein was quantified in lung tissue obtained from rapid autopsy or lung transplant of individuals with WSPH group 1 PAH (n = 8), non-PH (n = 11), or COPD (n = 20). (C) Plasma was collected from group 2 PH (n = 16), and SCUBE1 protein levels were compared with group 1 PAH plasma samples. (D) SCUBE1 protein was quantified in serum samples collected from patients with coronary angiogram–confirmed coronary artery disease (CAD) (n = 22) and non-CAD control subjects (n = 21). (E) SCUBE1 protein was quantified in myocardium tissue homogenates obtained from rapid autopsy or heart transplant of nondiseased individuals (Ctl) (n = 12), patients with nonischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM) (n = 12) and ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) (n = 12). (F) Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve for sensitivity and specificity analysis between PAH and a combined non-PAH cohort composed of control, COPD, and ALI patients (Clopper-Pearson method). Grouped data are presented as medians with interquartile range. The p values were calculated by Mann-Whitney U tests for pairwise comparisons, and Kruskal-Wallis test with post hoc Dunn Multiple Comparison test. The comparisons with p > 0.05 were not explicitly stated in the panels. AUC = area under the curve; other abbreviations as in Figures 1 and 5.