# Association between the Serum Soluble Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor and Peripheral Arterial Stiffness According to the Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index in Patients Undergoing Kidney Transplantation

## TL;DR

This study finds that higher levels of a protein called suPAR are linked to increased arterial stiffness in kidney transplant patients, which could indicate a higher risk of cardiovascular issues.

## Contribution

The study is the first to show an independent association between serum suPAR levels and peripheral arterial stiffness in kidney transplant recipients.

## Key findings

- 24.4% of kidney transplant patients had peripheral arterial stiffness (PAS), with higher suPAR levels in this group.
- Serum suPAR levels were independently associated with PAS after adjusting for other factors.
- Logarithmically transformed suPAR levels were positively correlated with CAVI values in kidney transplant patients.

## Abstract

High soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor
(suPAR) levels are correlated with cardiovascular (CV) disease. Arterial
stiffness is associated with aging-related vascular diseases and is an
independent risk factor for CV morbidity and mortality. It can be measured by the
cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI). We evaluated the association between serum
suPAR levels and arterial stiffness according to the CAVI in kidney
transplantation (KT) recipients.

In this study, 82 patients
undergoing KT were enrolled. Serum suPAR levels were analyzed using an enzyme
immunoassay. The CAVI was measured using a plethysmograph waveform device, and
patients with a CAVI of ≥9.0 were assigned to the peripheral arterial
stiffness (PAS) group.

Twenty KT patients (24.4%) had PAS,
were of older age (p = 0.042), and had higher serum triglyceride
(p = 0.023) and suPAR levels (p
< 0.001) than the normal
group. After adjusting for factors significantly associated with PAS by
multivariate logistic regression analysis, serum suPAR levels (odds ratio [OR]
1.072, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.023–1.123; p = 0.004) were
independently associated with PAS in KT patients. The logarithmically transformed
suPAR level (log-suPAR) was also positively correlated with the left or right
CAVI values (all p
< 0.001) from the results of the Spearman
correlation analysis in KT patients.

Serum suPAR levels are
positively associated with left or right CAVI values and are independently
associated with PAS in KT patients.