title: Association of circulating sclerostin with vascular calcification in Afro-Caribbean men.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Sclerostin, a Wingless (Wnt) pathway antagonist, is an established regulator of bone mineralization in humans but its potential importance in the regulation of vascular calcification is less clear. Therefore, our objective was to assess the relationship of serum sclerostin levels with coronary and aortic artery calcification (CAC and AAC, respectively) in Afro-Caribbean men on the island of Tobago.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum sclerostin levels and computed tomography of CAC and AAC were measured in 191 men (age mean(SD): 62.9(8.0)years) recruited without regard to health status. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess the cross-sectional association of sclerostin with prevalent arterial calcification.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean(SD) sclerostin was 45.2 pmol/L (15.6 pmol/L). After adjusting for risk factors including age, physical and lifestyle characteristics, comorbidities, lipoproteins and kidney function, 1 SD greater sclerostin level was associated with a 1.61-times (95%CI 1.02-2.53) greater odds of having CAC. Sclerostin was not associated with AAC in any model.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first study to show that, among Afro-Caribbean men, greater serum sclerostin concentrations were associated with prevalence and extent of CAC. Further studies are needed to better define the role of the Wnt signaling pathway in arterial calcification in humans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Electronic address: kuipers@pitt.edu.
authors.forename: Allison L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Kuipers
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Iva
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Miljkovic
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: J Jeffery
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Carr
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: James G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Terry
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Cara S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Nestlerode
authors.affiliation: Department of Software and Information Sciences, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Yaorong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Clareann H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Bunker
authors.affiliation: Tobago Health Studies Office, Scarborough, Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago.
authors.forename: Alan L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Patrick
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Zmuda
mesh_terms: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D000368:Aged; D001011:Aorta / Q000473:pathology; D044383:Black People; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D017691:Caribbean Region; D005819:Genetic Markers; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014300:Trinidad and Tobago; D061205:Vascular Calcification / Q000097:blood* / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000208:ethnology*; D060449:Wnt Signaling Pathway
chemical_list: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D001786:Blood Glucose; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; D005819:Genetic Markers; C422903:SOST protein, human
keywords: African ancestry; Aortic artery calcification; Coronary artery calcification; Sclerostin