SummaryThe aim of this study was to evaluate the correlations between microalbuminuria (MAU) and endothelial function in hypertensive patients with carotid plaques (CP). A total of 71 hypertensive patients with CP (CP group) and 20 healthy people as normal controls (NC group) were enrolled in this study. The CP group was divided into an MAU group (MAU group, n = 33) and a non-microalbuminuria group (NM group, n = 38) according to their urinary albumin excretion rates (UAER). Endothelial function was assessed by fl ow-mediated dilation (FMD) in the brachial artery by ultrasonography, and nitroglycerin-mediated dilation (NMD) was used as a control test for FMD. Intima-media thickness (IMT) and biochemical parameters were evaluated. The ΔFMD% was signifi cantly lower in patients with and without MAU in the CP group compared to the NC group. All patients with MAU had signifi cantly lower ΔFMD% and ΔNMD% compared to the patients without MAU. ΔFMD% showed signifi cant negative correlations with IMT, systolic blood pressure, glucose, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and log UAER. ΔNMD% demonstrated signifi cant negative correlations with age, IMT, systolic blood pressure, glucose, and log UAER. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis revealed that FMD was independently correlated with UAER and total cholesterol, while NMD was independently correlated with UAER and age. These results suggest that MAU might aggravate the arterial dysfunction and play a role in the arterial endothelial function in patients with hypertension and CP. Both endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent vasodilatations were impaired in hypertensive patients with CP. ( 2) It is noteworthy that the risk increases as the number of damaged organs increases. Although the relationships between MAU and endothelial dysfunction, as well as with impaired endothelial function in hypertensive patients with CP, have been investigated in several studies, 3,4) the superposition of two OD parameters such as MAU and CP in association with endothelial function remains unclear.Carotid plaque-induced endothelial dysfunction is also indicated as a predictor for CVD events. 1) A recent study has found that vascular endothelium impairment, which is a key initial step in atherogenesis, 5) is also associated with hypertension, 6) and endothelial dysfunction is common in subjects with cardiovascular risk factors.7) Endothelial function can be assessed by fl ow-mediated dilation (FMD). Nitroglycerin-mediated dilation (NMD) has been used as a control test for FMD when evaluating endothelial function in humans. 8) FMD is an endothelium-dependent response while NMD is an endothelium-independent response. FMD is dependent on local nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, and NMD is dependent on exogenous NO (eg, nitroglycerin). Both are well-established methods for noninvasive assessment of vascular function. 9) Recently, a few studies have demonstrated that not only FMD but also NMD is impaired in patients with atheroscler...

Abstract.Rutin has a variety of pharmacological actions, including radical reactivity, and protective activity against lipid peroxidation, viruses and acute pancreatitis; thus, it may be used as a treatment for many diseases. The present study aimed to investigate whether rutin inhibits coronary heart disease through extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 and Akt signaling in a porcine model. Male Chinese miniature pigs were randomly divided into four groups: A sham group, a coronary heart disease (CHD) model group, a group receiving 15 mg/kg rutin for 8 weeks following CHD modeling and a group receiving 45 mg/kg rutin for 8 weeks following CHD modeling. The results suggested that treatment with rutin suppressed the reduction in left ventricular ejection fraction and increase in systolic internal diameter that occurred in CHD model pigs. Rutin administration reduced the infarct size of the myocardium, attenuated LVEF, increased LVID and inhibited urine protein concentration, BUN and Scr expression levels in CHD model pigs. Results from western blot analysis demonstrated that in CHD pigs treated with 45 mg/kg rutin, the CHD-associated increases in transforming growth factor β1 and SMAD2 expression and reductions in phosphorylated (p)-ERK1/2 and p-Akt expression were attenuated. The present study suggests that rutin inhibits coronary heart disease through ERK1/2 and Akt signaling pathways in a porcine model.

The combined hyperhomocysteinemia condition is a feature of the Chinese hypertensive population. This study used the case-control method to investigate the association between plasma homocysteine and the C677T gene polymorphism of its key metabolic enzyme, 5, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), and early renal damage in a hypertensive Chinese Han population.A total of 379 adult essential hypertensive patients were selected as the study subjects. The personal information, clinical indicators, and the C677T gene polymorphism of MTHFR were texted. This study used the urine microalbumin/urine creatinine ratio (UACR) as a grouping basis: the hypertension without renal damage group (NRD group) and the hypertension combined with early renal damage group (ERD group).Early renal damage in the Chinese hypertensive population was associated with body weight, systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, cystatin C, uric acid, aldosterone, and glomerular filtration rate. The homocysteine level and the UACR in the TT genotype group were higher than those in the CC genotype group. The binary logistic regression analysis results showed that after sex and age were adjusted, the MTHFR C677T gene polymorphism was correlated with early renal damage in hypertension in both the recessive model and in the additive model.Plasma homocysteine and the C677T gene polymorphism of its key metabolic enzyme MTHFR might be independent risk factors of early renal damage in the hypertensive Chinese Han population.