BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES:Atherosclerosis is the main underlying pathology of coronary artery disease (CAD), which is the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1 (LOX-1) is involved in multiple phases of vascular dysfunction, including endothelial dysfunction, atherosclerotic plaque formation, and destabilization. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether soluble LOX-1 is associated with proximal/mid and distal segment of the left anterior descending (LAD) artery lesion in patients with stable CAD. METHODS:Sixty-four patients with proximal/mid segment of the LAD lesions and 51 patients with distal segments of the LAD lesions were included in this study. Soluble LOX-1 levels were measured in all study subjects. RESULTS:Baseline characteristics of the two groups were similar. In stable CAD, patients with proximal/middle segment of the LAD lesions had significantly higher circulating soluble LOX-1 levels than patients with distal segments of the LAD lesions (1.07 ± 0.33 vs. 0.70 ± 0.17 ng/ml, p < 0.001). No correlation was found between plasma-soluble LOX-1 levels and fasting glucose, lipid profile. For predicting proximal/middle LAD lesions, the highest specificity (95,2%) and sensitivity (53,8%) levels were obtained at the cut-off value of 0.68. CONCLUSION:Our study demonstrated that serum-soluble LOX-1 levels were associated with proximal/mid segment of the LAD lesions. Furthermore, this study suggested soluble LOX-1 might be a useful biomarker of coronary plaque vulnerability in patients with stable CAD. Soluble LOX-1, the novel biochemical marker, may provide new insights into not only risk stratification but also therapeutic strategy for CAD.