Serum PCSK9 is associated with multiple metabolic factors in a large Han Chinese population.
Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is a serine protease that regulates cholesterol metabolism through low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) degradation. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function mutations within PCSK9 gene lead to hypercholesterolemia or hypocholesterolemia respectively. Studies in the U.S. and Canada reported a correlation between multiple metabolic factors and circulating PCSK9 concentrations. However, there is no data available on circulating PCSK9 levels in Chinese. A sandwich ELISA assay was applied to measure serum PCSK9 levels in a Chinese population of 2719 adults from Nanjing district, China, which represents a large and uniform ethnic population of Han Chinese. Serum PCSK9 levels ranged from 12.85 to 222.50 ng/ml with a mean concentration of 69.35 ng/ml in this population. Serum PCSK9 levels were slightly higher in women than in men. Compared to premenopausal women, postmenopausal women had significantly higher PCSK9 levels. Serum PCSK9 levels were correlated with multiple metabolic variables including age, BMI, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting blood glucose, systolic blood pressure (SP) and diastolic blood pressure (DP) in this population. After stepwise regression analysis, there was a significant positive association between serum PCSK9 levels and total cholesterol, triglycerides and SP in men. In women, there was a positive correlation between PCSK9 levels and total cholesterol, age and DP. Our study indicates that the serum PCSK9 level may be a biomarker of metabolic status and cardiovascular disease.
Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Qin
Q
Cui
Xianxia
X
Ju
Tao
T
Yang
Mei
M
Zhang
Wei
W
Tang
Qi
Q
Chen
Yong
Y
Hu
Joseph V
JV
Haas
Jason S
JS
Troutt
Richard T
RT
Pickard
Ryan
R
Darling
Robert J
RJ
Konrad
Hongwen
H
Zhou
Guoqing
G
Cao
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D002681:China; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause; D000071449:Proprotein Convertase 9; D043484:Proprotein Convertases; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D015415:Biomarkers; D001786:Blood Glucose; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol; C472125:PCSK9 protein, human; D000071449:Proprotein Convertase 9; D043484:Proprotein Convertases; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases