Epidemiology, Genetics and Atherosclerosis Research Group on Systemic Inflammatory Diseases, IDIVAL, Santander, Spain.
Bone Metabolism Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, IDIVAL, University of Cantabria, RETICEF, Santander, Spain.
Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2018 Mar-Apr;36(2):302-309. Epub 2017 Dec 15.
Due to the high incidence of cardiovascular disease in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), the search of potential biomarkers that may help to identify patients with high cardiovascular risk is of main importance. Therefore, in this study we assessed the implication of osteoprotegerin (OPG) and sclerostin (SCL), two biomarkers associated with cardiovascular disease and bone metabolism, in the clinical spectrum and atherosclerotic disease of patients with axSpA.
OPG and SCL serum levels were determined in 163 axSpA Spanish patients (119 ankylosing spondylitis and 44 non-radiographic axSpA) and 63 healthy controls by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Carotid ultrasound was performed in axSpA patients to determine the presence of subclinical atherosclerosis (by the identification of abnormally increased carotid intima-media thickness [cIMT] and presence of plaques).
Patients displayed higher OPG but lower SCL levels than controls (p=0.02 and 0.001, respectively). Association of these molecules with some metabolic syndrome features was seen. In this regard, OPG negatively correlated with body mass index (p=0.04) whereas SCL levels were higher in hypertensive patients (p=0.01) and in men (p=0.002). However, serum OPG and SCL were not significantly correlated with cIMT values or presence of plaques when data were adjusted by age at the time of the study, sex, classic cardiovascular risk factors and anti-TNF therapy.
Our results suggest an association of OPG and SCL in axSpA with some metabolic syndrome features that are associated with an increased risk of CV disease.
由于心血管疾病在中轴型脊柱关节炎（axSpA）中的发病率较高，因此寻找可能有助于识别心血管风险较高的患者的潜在生物标志物非常重要。因此，在这项研究中，我们评估了骨保护素（OPG）和硬化蛋白（SCL）这两种与心血管疾病和骨代谢相关的生物标志物在 axSpA 患者的临床谱和动脉粥样硬化疾病中的意义。
通过酶联免疫吸附试验测定了 163 例西班牙 axSpA 患者（119 例强直性脊柱炎和 44 例非放射学 axSpA）和 63 例健康对照者的 OPG 和 SCL 血清水平。对 axSpA 患者进行颈动脉超声检查，以确定亚临床动脉粥样硬化的存在（通过识别异常增加的颈动脉内膜-中层厚度[cIMT]和斑块的存在）。
与对照组相比，患者的 OPG 水平较高，但 SCL 水平较低（分别为 p=0.02 和 0.001）。这些分子与一些代谢综合征特征有关。在这方面，OPG 与体重指数呈负相关（p=0.04），而 SCL 水平在高血压患者中较高（p=0.01），在男性中较高（p=0.002）。然而，当按研究时的年龄、性别、经典心血管危险因素和抗 TNF 治疗调整数据时，血清 OPG 和 SCL 与 cIMT 值或斑块的存在没有显著相关性。
我们的结果表明，OPG 和 SCL 在 axSpA 中的存在与一些与心血管疾病风险增加相关的代谢综合征特征有关。
