Kidney Res Clin Pract.  2016 Sep;35(3):152-159. 10.1016/j.krcp.2016.07.001.

Plasma endocan level and prognosis of immunoglobulin A nephropathy

• Lee YH
• Kim JS
• Kim SY
• Kim YG
• Moon JY
• Jeong KH
• Lee TW
• Ihm CG
• Lee SH

• KMID: 2353457
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.krcp.2016.07.001

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Endocan, previously called endothelial cell-specific molecule-1, is a soluble proteoglycan that is secreted from vascular endothelial cells. Elevated plasma endocan levels were shown to be associated with poor cardiovascular outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We investigated the clinical relevance of plasma and urine endocan levels in patients with immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN).
METHODS
Sixty-four patients with IgAN and 20 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Plasma and urine endocan levels were measured. Clinical parameters, pathologic grades, and renal outcomes were compared among subgroups with different plasma and urine endocan levels.
RESULTS
Both plasma and urine endocan levels were significantly higher in patients with IgAN than in controls. Elevated serum phosphorus and C-reactive protein were independent determinants for plasma endocan, and elevated C-reactive protein was also an independent determinant for urine endocan levels in multivariate analysis. Plasma endocan level was not significantly different across CKD stages, but patients with higher plasma endocan levels showed adverse renal outcome. Urine endocan levels were also elevated in patients with poor renal function. Cox proportional hazard models showed that high plasma endocan was an independent risk factor for CKD progression after adjusting for the well-known predictors of outcome in patients with IgAN.
CONCLUSION
This study suggested that plasma endocan might be useful as a prognostic factor in patients with IgAN.

Keyword

Endocan; Endothelial cell–specific molecule-1; Immunoglobulin A nephropathy

MeSH Terms

C-Reactive Protein
Endothelial Cells
Glomerulonephritis, IGA*
Humans
Immunoglobulin A*
Immunoglobulins*
Multivariate Analysis
Phosphorus
Plasma*
Prognosis*
Proportional Hazards Models
Proteoglycans
Renal Insufficiency, Chronic
Risk Factors
C-Reactive Protein
Immunoglobulin A
Immunoglobulins
Phosphorus
Proteoglycans