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. 2023 Mar 30;18(3):e0283716.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0283716. eCollection 2023.

Urinary epidermal growth factor reflects vascular health in boys with either obesity or type 1 diabetes. A role for renin, or beyond?

Kristien J Ledeganck  1 , Annelies Van Eyck  1   2 , Kristien Wouters  3 , Eline Vermeiren  1 , Benedicte Y De Winter  1   2 , Stijn Verhulst  1   2 , Kim Van Hoorenbeeck  1   4 , Annick France  5 , Hilde Dotremont  5 , Marieke den Brinker  5 , Dominique Trouet  1   6
Affiliations

Urinary epidermal growth factor reflects vascular health in boys with either obesity or type 1 diabetes. A role for renin, or beyond?

Kristien J Ledeganck et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

An increased blood pressure is a known comorbidity of both type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and obesity in children. Increasing evidence suggests a subtle interplay between epidermal growth factor (EGF) and renin along the juxtaglomerular system, regulating the impact of blood pressure on kidney health and the cardiovascular system. In this study, we investigated the relation between urinary EGF, serum renin and blood pressure in children with obesity or T1DM. 147 non-obese children with T1DM and 126 children with obesity, were included. Blood pressure was measured and mean arterial pressure (MAP) and the pulse pressure (PP) were calculated. Serum renin and urinary EGF levels were determined with a commercial ELISA kit. Partial Spearman rank correlation coefficients and multiple linear regression models were used to study the association between renin, the urinary EGF/urinary creatinine ratio and blood pressure parameters. The urinary EGF/urinary creatinine ratio is correlated with the SBP and the MAP in boys with obesity as well as in boys with T1DM. Multiple regression analysis showed that sex and pulse pressure in male subjects were found to be independently associated with renin. Sex, the presence of diabetes, age, the glomerular filtration rate and both pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure in male subjects were independently associated with urinary EGF/urinary creatinine. In conclusion, in boys with either obesity or diabetes, pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure are negatively associated with the functional integrity of the nephron, which is reflected by a decreased expression of urinary EGF.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
Boxplots represent differences in blood pressure related variables (upper panel) and kidney related variables (lower panel) between boys and girls with T1DM (light grey) and obesity (black). MAP: mean arterial pressure; PP: pulse pressure; eGFR: estimated glomerular filtration rate; uEGF: urinary epidermal growth factor; uCreat: urinary creatinine.
Fig 2
Fig 2. The added variable plots visualize the relation between uEGF/uCreat and respectively PP and MAP, after correction for the other covariates in the linear regression model (i.e. age, height z-score, eGFR and diabetes).
The darker (blue) dots and lines correspond with the boys, while the lighter (orange) dots and lines depict the girls. As seen in the model, no clear relationship is seen for the girls, while in the boys we see a negative association between uEGF/uCreat and PP or MAP. MAP: mean arterial pressure; PP: pulse pressure; EGF: epidermal growth factor.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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