Plasma endocan levels associate with inflammation, vascular abnormalities, cardiovascular events, and survival in chronic kidney disease

Abstract

Plasma endocan levels are elevated in a large number of diseases, and may reflect endothelial cell dysfunction. There are currently no data on endocan in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Therefore, we measured plasma endocan in 251 patients with CKD (stage 1-5) and 60 control individuals. Plasma endocan concentrations correlated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), different markers of inflammation (pentraxin 3 and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein), and vascular abnormalities (flow-mediated vasodilation (FMV) and carotid intima media thickness (CIMT)). All-cause mortality and cardiovascular events (CVE) were also analyzed with respect to plasma endocan. Patients with CKD showed significantly increased plasma endocan (4.7 [IQR 1.9-9.4] compared with controls [IQR 1.1-1.5] ng/ml), with values progressively higher across stages of CKD. On univariate analysis, plasma endocan concentrations correlated negatively with eGFR and FMV, but positively with both markers of inflammation and CIMT. However, on multivariate analysis only high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, FMV, and CIMT remained significantly associated with plasma endocan. On Cox survival analysis, endocan levels were associated with all-cause mortality and CVE in these patients. Thus, plasma endocan increases in the presence of decreasing eGFR and influences all-cause mortality and CVE in patients with CKD independent of traditional and nontraditional risk factors.

The Assessment of Serum Endocan Levels in Children With Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

“…Relevance of serum endocan to cardiovascular disease and mortality has been reported in patients with CKD. 9 Serum endocan levels have also been associated with cardiovascular disease and mortality in patients with psoriasis. 10 Balta et al 8 demonstrated that the mean serum endocan level in patients with Behçet's disease (inflammatory vasculitis) was 1,290±600 ng/L, which was significantly higher compared with the control group, and a positive correlation between endocan levels and sedimentation rate, CRP, and disease activity.…”

“…7,8 Relationships between cardiovascular disease risk and serum endocan levels in patients with chronic diseases such as chronic kidney disease (CKD) and psoriasis have also been reported. 9,10 Therefore, in this study, we aimed to evaluate the levels of serum endocan in children with JIA.…”

Are Endocan and Ischemia-Modified Albumin Reliable Biomarkers for Endothelial Dysfunction in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus?

“…[2][3][4] It has also been shown that serum endocan and IMA levels were significantly higher in infectious and other chronic diseases. [5][6][7] Balamir et al 1 did not mention whether acute or chronic infectious disease was an exclusion criterion in their study.…”

Endocan, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, and Vascular Risk

“…16 Endothelial dysfunction or activation may significantly contribute to the increased risk of CVD in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Yilmaz et al 18 concluded that endocan levels are inversely correlated with renal function and that they influenced all-cause mortality and CVD events in a CKD population independent of other risk factors. As for OSA, there is also evidence of endothelial dysfunction in Behçet disease.…”