Serum Sema7A is increased in patients with acute aortic dissection.

BACKGROUND: To observe the level of serum Sema7A in acute aortic dissection (AAD) and its diagnostic value for AAD.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Patients with sudden chest pain including AAD, acute myocardial infarction (AMI) or pulmonary embolism (PE) were enrolled. Patients without chest pain or cardiovascular diseases were included as the controls. Serum Sema7A and plasma D-dimer were detected and compared in each group.

RESULTS: 85 AAD patients, 55 AMI patients, 15 PE patients, and 30 controls were enrolled. The concentration of Serum Sema7A in the AAD group was significantly higher than that in the control, AMI and PE group. Serum Sema7A was positively correlated with D-dimer. In AAD patients who underwent invasive intervention therapy, serum Sema7A levels were significantly decreased after the intervention. Serum Sema7A was an independent risk factor for the presence of AAD. The areas under the ROC curve of Sema7A and D-dimer for differential diagnosis of AAD from other chest pain disorders were 0.842 (0.776, 0.909) and 0.788 (0.714, 0.862), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: Sema7A is highly expressed in patients with AAD. Sema7A might be a valuable biomarker for the early diagnosis of AAD and has the potential to differentiate AAD from AMI and PE.