Associations of genetic variants of endothelin with cardiovascular complications in patients with renal failure

Abstract

BackgroundCardiovascular (CV) complications are the main cause of death in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. The high CV risks are attributable to the additive effects of multiple factors. Endothelin (EDN) is a potent vasoconstrictor and plays a role in regulating vascular homeostasis. However, whether variants of the EDN gene are associated with risks of CV events is not known. We conducted a study to investigate associations of variants of the EDN gene with CV events in ESRD patients.MethodsA cohort of 190 ESRD patients was recruited, and 19 tagged single-nucleotide polymorphisms within the EDN gene family were selected for genotyping through a TaqMan assay. Data on clinical characteristics and hospitalizations for CV events were collected. Associations of genetic variants of the EDN gene with CV events were analyzed.ResultsIn this cohort, 62% (n = 118) of patients were hospitalized for a CV event. The EDN1 rs4714384 (CC/TC vs. TT) polymorphism was associated with an increased risk of a CV event after multiple testing (p < 0.001). Further functional exploration showed that it was a quantitative trait locus which may significantly alter gene expression in the tibial artery.Conclusions EDN1 rs4714384 is very likely an important biomarker of CV events in ESRD patients.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12882-017-0707-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Association of endothelin genetic variants and hospitalized infection complications in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients

“…Also, ET-1 has been shown to stimulate ROS production [9] and correlate with the risk of inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis. Our previous study showed genetic variants of EDN1 gene are associated with an increased risk of hospitalization for a cardiovascular event [31]. Pittet et al demonstrated that the serum level of ET-1 was strongly correlated with reduced cardiac output in sepsis patients [32].…”