Relationship of apelin, procalcitonin, and fetuin-A concentrations with carotid intima-media thickness in acromegaly

Abstract

Background: Acromegaly is characterized by excess growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 concentrations. There is conflicting evidence as to whether acromegaly is associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis. Apelin is an adipose tissue-derived peptide that may be associated with hyperinsulinemia. Fetuin-A is a hepatocyte produced plasma glycoprotein that has an important role as a calcification inhibitor. The aim of this study was to examine apelin, fetuin-A, and procalcitonin concentrations and to assess their relationship with carotid intima medial thickness (cIMT) in subjects with acromegaly. Methods: Apelin, fetuin-A, and procalcitonin serum concentrations were measured in 37 (20 inactive and 17 active) subjects with acromegaly and 30 control subjects, along with carotid intima medial thickness. Results: The concentrations of apelin, fetuin-A, and procalcitonin were increased in subjects with acromegaly. There were significant correlations between apelin, fetuin-A, and procalcitonin in subjects with acromegaly. Carotid intima medial thickness values were similar between control subjects and subjects with acromegaly. Conclusions: Carotid intima medial thickness was not increased in subjects with acromegaly. It is possible that the increased apelin and fetuin-A concentrations observed play a protective role against the development of atherosclerosis in subjects with acromegaly.

Relationship of Serum Fetuin A with Metabolic and Clinical Parameters in German Children and Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes

“…However, previous data on fetuin A and atherosclerosis in non-T1D cohorts are inconsistent: both low and high fetuin A concentrations were associated with cardiovascular disease and mortality risk [21-23]. Some authors suggested that fetuin A plays a protective role against vascular calcification and atherosclerosis [23, 59, 60], while others found that higher fetuin A levels are associated with arterial stiffness, increased intima media thickness [41, 43, 61, 62], and an increased risk of peripheral arterial disease, myocardial infarction, and ischemic stroke [20, 63, 64]. Comorbidity and late complication rates were low and not related to fetuin A levels, e.g., we did not observe any case with diabetic retinopathy in our cohort, which may be either due to the fact that the number of patients was too low, that patients were too young to observe late complications, or that fetuin A is not a reliable marker for increased complications in young T1D patients.…”

Relationship of Decreased Circulating Apelin Levels with Growth Hormone, Insulin-like Growth Factor, Carotid Intima-media Thickness, and Epicardial Fat Thickness in Acromegaly

“…To the best knowledge of the authors, literature reports only one study so far, which has addressed the issue of circulating levels of apelin in acromegaly. Topsakal et al reported increased apelin levels in both active and inactive acromegalic subjects as compared to the controls, although the difference in apelin levels between both the acromegalic groups was not significant (18). They also found a significantly positive correlation between apelin and GH.…”

“…Although conflicting results on the relationship of apelin in metabolic diseases are known, there is only little evidence regarding apelin levels in acromegalic subjects. In a small sample-sized population study, apelin levels were found to be elevated in both active and controlled acromegalic subjects, when correlated with GH (18). In the same study, apelin levels were found to be decreased in active acromegalic subjects as compared to the controlled acromegalic subjects although the difference was not statistically significant.…”

Apelin/APJ system: A critical regulator of vascular smooth muscle cell

“…Additionally, substantial evidence indicate that fetuin‐A plays an important role in inhibiting arterial calcification (Aroner et al, ; Eleftheriadou et al, ; Prystupa et al, ). High concentrations of fetuin‐A and apelin may play an important role in the treatment of atherosclerosis (Topsakal et al, ). There may be a link between apelin and vascular calcification.…”