MO732: Circulating Omentin-1 and Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Chronic Haemodialysis Patients: A Pilot Study

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Chronic haemodialysis (HD) patients are notoriously at high risk for cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Omentin-1 (OME-1) is an adipocytokine produced by adipose tissue, whose levels are altered in various dysmetabolic conditions, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Beyond this, nowadays there is evidence indicating that this cytokine plays a crucial role in the genesis and progression of systemic atherosclerosis since it may inhibit plaque formation. With this background in mind, we run a pilot investigation to evaluate the possible correlation between circulating OME-1 levels and mean intimal thickness (IMT) in a small, homogeneous cohort of patients treated by HD (‘HD patients’). METHOD From a source cohort of 45 HD patients, we selected 27 individuals suitable to be enrolled. These patients had a dialysis vintage > 6 mo., were on a regular 4 h/3 times week HD regimen and had stable clinical conditions. OME-1 levels were measured in their blood by the ELISA together with common laboratory and clinical parameters before starting a mid-week HD session. All the patients then underwent carotid Doppler ultrasound for IMT measurement. A total of 18 healthy subjects were the controls. RESULTS In the whole cohort, mean IMT values were 0.75 ± 0.12 mm. However, 8/27 patients (29.6%) presented a pathological IMT (>1 mm). Circulating OME-1 levels in the whole HD cohort were increased as compared with controls [763 (367–1423) versus 371 (228–868) ng/mL; P = 0.03]. However, HD patients with pathological IMT presented, on average, lower OME-1 levels as compared with others [483.25 (168.7–1743) versus 1155 (286–2324); P = 0.05]. In ROC analyses, OME-1 values ≤ 840 ng/mL held an 83.3 sensitivity and 66.7 specificity (AUC 0.716, 95% confidence interval 0.506–0.946) in identifying HD patients with pathological carotid thickening. CONCLUSION OME-1 may play a direct role in the atherosclerosis process also in HD patients. Further studies on larger and more heterogeneous HD cohorts are needed to confirm the usefulness of OME-1 plasma levels as potential biomarkers for diagnosing subclinical atherosclerosis and for stratifying the risk of atherosclerosis progression in high-CV risk in HD patients.