Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Long pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is a multimeric inflammatory mediator. Increased serum PTX3 levels have been reported among end-stage renal disease patients. Moreover, PTX3 has been suggested to represent a novel mortality risk factor, and elevated PTX3 levels have been shown to accompany increased albuminuria among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: We analyzed data of 49 persons with stage 1 diabetic CKD and 32 healthy subjects in a prospective controlled trial. Endothelial dysfunction was determined by flow-mediated dilation (FMD). Serum PTX3, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels, and FMD were studied in baseline and after 12 wk of ramipril therapy. Stepwise multivariate regression analysis evaluated the association of FMD with clinical and serologic parameters. RESULTS: Serum PTX3, hsCRP, and albumin levels and proteinuria were significantly decreased, and FMD levels were significantly increased, after ramipril treatment. FMD was negatively correlated with serum PTX3, 24-h proteinuria, and hsCRP levels and positively correlated to serum albumin both at baseline and after the 12-wk treatment period. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that PTX3 levels were independently related to FMD both before and after ramipril treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that serum PTX3 levels are associated with endothelial dysfunction in patients with stage 1 diabetic CKD, independent of CRP. In addition, short-term ACE-inhibitor treatment significantly improves FMD and normalizes PTX3, hsCRP, and urinary protein excretion. (NCT: The study was registered in clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00674596.).