The advanced glycation end product N(epsilon)-carboxymethyllysine is not a predictor of cardiovascular events and renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetic kidney disease and hypertension.
BACKGROUND
Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are implicated in the pathogenesis of vascular damage, especially in patients with diabetes and renal insufficiency. The oxidatively formed AGE N(epsilon)-carboxymethyllysine (CML) is thought to be a marker of oxidative stress.


METHODS
Four hundred fifty patients with type 2 diabetes and nephropathy from the Irbesartan in Diabetic Nephropathy Trial cohort (mean age, 58 +/- 8.2 years; 137 women, 313 men) with a mean glomerular filtration rate of 48.2 mL/min (0.80 mL/s; Modification of Diet in Renal Disease formula) were followed up for 2.6 years. Serum CML was measured by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Relationships between CML levels, traditional risk factors, and cardiovascular and renal events were tested in Cox proportional hazards models.


RESULTS
Mean serum CML level was 599.9 +/- 276.0 ng/mL, and mean hemoglobin A1c level was 7.5% +/- 1.6%. One hundred forty-three first cardiovascular events occurred during follow-up; 74 patients died, 44 of cardiovascular causes. Final multivariate analysis showed age (relative risk [RR], 1.87; confidence interval [CI], 1.13 to 3.11; P = 0.016 for the highest compared with lowest quartile), history of prior cardiovascular events (RR, 1.96; CI, 1.35 to 2.85; P < 0.0005), and 24-hour urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (RR, 1.29; CI, 1.11 to 1.50 per doubling; P < 0.0005) to be independent risk factors for a first cardiovascular event, but not CML level. CML level also did not correlate significantly with renal outcome.


CONCLUSIONS
Serum CML level could not be identified as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular or renal outcomes in the examined population. This suggests that traditional risk factors might have a more important role for these end points or that other AGE compounds, as well as tissue AGE levels, might be of greater relevance compared with serum levels, which remains open to further study.
Busch
Martin
M
Department of Internal Medicine III and Institute of Medical Statistics and Computer Sciences, University of Jena, Germany. martin.busch@med.uni-jena.de
Franke
Sybille
S
Wolf
Gunter
G
Brandstädt
Antje
A
Ott
Undine
U
Gerth
Jens
J
Hunsicker
Lawrence G
LG
Stein
Guenter
G
D000368:Aged; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications*; D003925:Diabetic Angiopathies / Q000097:blood*; D003928:Diabetic Nephropathies / Q000097:blood*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced / Q000097:blood* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood*; D008239:Lysine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors
D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced; C048496:N(6)-carboxymethyllysine; D008239:Lysine