# Increased Secreted Frizzled-Related Protein 2 in Hypertension-Induced Left Ventricular Remodeling

## TL;DR

This study finds that higher levels of sFRP2 in the blood are linked to heart remodeling in people with high blood pressure, and that myricetin may reduce these levels.

## Contribution

The study identifies sFRP2 as a potential biomarker for left ventricular remodeling in hypertension and suggests myricetin as a possible therapeutic agent.

## Key findings

- Serum sFRP2 levels are significantly higher in hypertensive patients with left ventricular remodeling.
- sFRP2 negatively correlates with LV dimension and positively with relative wall thickness.
- Myricetin reverses increased sFRP2 expression in hypertrophic hearts.

## Abstract

Secreted frizzled-related protein 2 (sFRP2) is involved in
various cardiovascular diseases. However, its relevance in left ventricular (LV)
remodeling in patients with hypertension (HTN) is obscure.

In
this study, 196 patients with HTN were included, 59 with echocardiographic LV
remodeling. A total of 100 healthy subjects served as normal controls. The
serum-sFRP2 level was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Data
were collected from medical records for baseline characteristics, biochemistry
tests, and echocardiography. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were
used to assess the distinguishing value of sFRP2 for LV remodeling in patients
with HTN. Spearman rank correlation analysis was utilized to identify factors
correlated with sFRP2. Cardiac sFRP2 was determined by Western blot and
quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).

The level of
serum-sFRP2 was higher in HTN patients with echocardiographic LV remodeling than
their non-remodeling counterparts. ROC analysis showed that the area under the
curve (AUC) for sFRP2 in distinguishing echocardiographic LV remodeling in HTN
patients was 0.791 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.714–0.869). The sFRP2 was
negatively correlated with LV dimension and positively correlated with relative
wall thickness (RWT). The expression of sFRP2 was higher in hypertrophic hearts,
which could be reversed by myricetin.

The serum level and
cardiac sFRP2 increased in the setting of LV remodeling and decreased by
myricetin. Serum sFRP2 may be a promising distinguishing factor for LV remodeling
in HTN patients.