Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Dec 8:9:86.
doi: 10.1186/1475-2840-9-86.

Increased levels of the calcification marker matrix Gla Protein and the inflammatory markers YKL-40 and CRP in patients with type 2 diabetes and ischemic heart disease

Stine B Thomsen  1 , Camilla N Rathcke, Bo Zerahn, Henrik Vestergaard
Affiliations

Increased levels of the calcification marker matrix Gla Protein and the inflammatory markers YKL-40 and CRP in patients with type 2 diabetes and ischemic heart disease

Stine B Thomsen et al. Cardiovasc Diabetol. .

Abstract

Objective and design: Low grade inflammation is of pathogenic importance in atherosclerosis and in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Matrix GLA protein (MGP), an inhibitor of medial calcification of arteries, is increased in patients with atherosclerosis. In the present study levels of markers of calcification (MGP) and inflammation (YKL-40, hsCRP) were evaluated in patients with T2 D and/or ischemic heart disease (IHD).

Materials and methods: The study population consisted of 1) patients with T2D (n = 45); 2) patients with IHD (n = 37); patients with both T2D and IHD (n = 20) and 4) healthy controls (n = 20). Biochemical parameters were measured in venous blood samples.

Results: Levels of MGP, YKL-40 and hsCRP were increased in patients with IHD and/or T2D (p < 0.0001) and patients with T2D and IHD had higher MGP levels (p < 0.001). In multiple linear regression analyses MGP was associated with patient category (r = 0.36, p < 0.001), and HDL-cholesterol levels (r = 0.29, p < 0.001) adjusting for the significant covariates.

Conclusions: In patients with T2D and/or IHD we found increased levels of plasma MGP indicative of a progressing calcification process. This process is paralleled by increased levels of YKL-40 and hsCRP, which most likely reflect the concomitant low grade inflammatory state in these patients.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Levels of MGP, YKL-40 and hsCRP were significantly different between the groups (ANOVA, *0.0001 < p < 0,01 for all comparisons) (-T2D/-IHD N = 20; +T2D/-IHD N = 45; -T2D/+IHD N = 37; +T2D/+IHD N = 20). MGP levels were significantly higher in patients with both T2D and IHD when compared to the other groups (+p < 0.001 for all comparisons), and in IHD patients when compared to patients with T2D and controls (#p ≤ 0.007). Levels of YKL-40 were significantly higher in patients with T2D and in patients with IHD when compared to the control subjects (p < 0.03). Levels of hsCRP were significantly higher in patients with T2D with and without IHD when compared to the control group (+p ≤ 0.001 for all).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Pickup JC. Inflammation and activated innate immunity in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2004;27:813–823. doi: 10.2337/diacare.27.3.813. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ridker PM. C-reactive protein and the prediction of cardiovascular events among those at intermediate risk: moving an inflammatory hypothesis toward consensus. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2007;49:2129–2138. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2007.02.052. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Meigs JB, Hu FB, Rifai N, Manson JE. Biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. JAMA. 2004;291:1978–1986. doi: 10.1001/jama.291.16.1978. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ridker PM, Stampfer MJ, Rifai N. Novel risk factors for systemic atherosclerosis: a comparison of C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, homocysteine, lipoprotein(a), and standard cholesterol screening as predictors of peripheral arterial disease. JAMA. 2001;285:2481–2485. doi: 10.1001/jama.285.19.2481. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Packard RR, Libby P. Inflammation in atherosclerosis: from vascular biology to biomarker discovery and risk prediction. Clin Chem. 2008;54:24–38. doi: 10.1373/clinchem.2007.097360. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms