Endothelin-1 levels and cardiovascular risk factors in renal transplant patients.
OBJECTIVE
Circulating endothelin-1 (ET-1) levels have been reported to be associated with vascular complications and endothelial dysfunction in nontransplanted patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between ET-1 levels and major cardiovascular (CV) risk factors in renal transplant (RTX) patients with stable graft function.


METHODS
ET-1 levels were determined in 156 RTX patients and the relationship between circulating ET-1 levels and CV risk factors including age, gender, kidney function, blood lipids, diabetes, and hypertension was studied.


RESULTS
Circulating ET-1 levels were found to be positively correlated with creatinine (r = 0.25, p < 0.01) and systolic blood pressure (r = 0.20, p < 0.05) and inversely correlated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels (r = -0.27, p < 0.01). Patients with high and intermediate total cholesterol/HDL-C ratios (TC/HDL-C) had significantly higher ET-1 levels when compared to patients with low ratios (7.02 +/- 3.74, 6.79 +/- 2.67, and 5.37 +/- 3.04 pg/ml, respectively, p < 0.002). Only creatinine, HDL-C, and age >40 years were shown to be independent correlates for ET-1 levels according to multivariate analyses. Interestingly, ET-1 levels were significantly higher (+26%, p < 0.03) in RTX patients with documented CV disease, as compared to those without, when matched for age, gender, and presence of diabetes.


CONCLUSIONS
Increased circulating ET-1 levels are associated with low HDL-C and documented CV disease in RTX. This is likely a reflection of vascular endothelial damage and dysfunction and therefore may represent an increased risk for atherosclerosis.
Radeau
Thierry
T
Lipid Research Center, CHUL Research Center, CHUQ, Sainte-Foy (Québec) Canada, G1V 4G2.
Lebel
Marcel
M
Houde
Isabelle
I
Larivière
Richard
R
Mauriège
Pascale
P
Kingma
Iris
I
Lachance
Jean-Guy
JG
Noël
Réal
R
Després
Jean-Pierre
JP
Bergeron
Jean
J
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000097:blood; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood; D007677:Kidney Function Tests; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000502:physiology*; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors
D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D019332:Endothelin-1; D008055:Lipids; D003404:Creatinine