The Association between Serum Chemerin and Peritoneal Membrane Transport Function in Patients Undergoing Incident Peritoneal Dialysis: A Prospective Cohort Study

Abstract

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Some biomarkers in drained dialyzate or peritoneal membrane have been found related to the dialyzate/plasma ratio of creatinine at 4 h (D/P Cr) in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD). But so far, there is no report on serum markers. Some biomarkers are associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Chemerin is a multifunctional chemoattractant adipokine which plays important roles in inflammation, adipogenesis, and metabolism. We intended to investigate the role of chemerin in the peritoneal membrane transport function and CVDs in incident PD patients. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> This prospective cohort study was conducted in our PD center. The patients underwent initial standardized peritoneal equilibration test after PD for 4–6 weeks. Level of serum chemerin was determined via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The patients’ CVDs were recorded during the follow-up period. <b><i>Results:</i></b> 151 eligible patients with a mean age of 46.59 ± 13.52 years were enrolled, and the median duration of PD was 25.0 months. The median concentration of serum chemerin was 29.09 ng/mL. Baseline D/P Cr was positively correlated with serum chemerin (<i>r</i> = 0.244, <i>p</i> = 0.003). The multivariate analyses revealed that serum chemerin (<i>p</i> = 0.002), age (<i>p</i> = 0.041), albumin (<i>p</i> = 0.000), and high-density lipoprotein (<i>p</i> = 0.022) were independent factors of D/P Cr. The serum chemerin level was significantly higher in diabetes mellitus (DM) patients than that of patients without DM (36.45 ng/mL vs. 27.37 ng/mL, <i>p</i> = 0.000), and there was a significant statistical difference in CVDs between the high chemerin group (≥29.09 ng/mL) and low chemerin group (<29.09 ng/mL) (42 vs. 21%, <i>p</i> = 0.009). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Serum chemerin has a positive correlation with baseline D/P Cr in incident PD patients. It may be a biomarker that can predict the baseline transport function of the peritoneal membrane, and serum chemerin may be a risk factor of CVDs for incident PD patients. Multicenter studies with a larger sample size are warranted in the future.