Expression and predictive value of NLRP3 in patients with atrial fibrillation and stroke

Objective: To investigate the expression and prognostic value of NLRP3 in non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients with ischemic stroke (IS). Methods: A retrospective analysis from January 2019 to December 2021 was conducted in 105 patients with NVAF who were treated in our hospital and were divided into the simple NVAF group (simple group) and combined IS group (consolidation group) according to the occurrence of IS. The relative expression of NLRP3 in serum was tested via qRT-PCR. The serum TNF-alpha, IL-6, and CRP levels were measured by double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA), and the correlation between the expression of NLRP3, TNF-alpha, IL-6, CRP and non-valvular atrial fibrillation stroke risk score (CHA2DS2-VASc score) was analyzed by Pearson method. The independent predictors of NVAF combined with IS were analyzed by regression equation. Meanwhile, the predictive value of the factors was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results: The scores of NLRP3, TNF-alpha, IL-6, CRP and CHA2DS2-VASc in the consolidation group were obviously higher than those in the simple group. Pearson analysis revealed that the NLRP3, TNF-alpha, IL-6, and CRP levels in IS patients were positively correlated with CHA2DS2-VASc score. Logistic analysis revealed that NLRP3, IL-6, CRP and CHA2DS2-VASc could be used as potential factors to predict the merging of NVAF with IS. ROC showed that combined detection of NLRP3, IL-6, CRP and CHA2DS2-VASc in predicting NVAF complicated with IS exhibited an area under the curve of more than 0.9. Conclusion: NLRP3 is highly expressed in peripheral blood of patients with NVAF complicated with IS, which is a potential indicator for predicting NVAF complicated with IS.