Angiopoietin-2 serum levels correlate with severity, early onset and cardiovascular disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

作者：Lopez Mejias R; Corrales A; Genre F; Hernandez J L; Ochoa R; Blanco R; Gonzalez Juanatey C; Martin J; Llorca J; Gonzalez Gay M A^*

来源：Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology, 2013, 31(5): 761-766.

• Angiopoietin-2 (Angpt-2)
• atherosclerosis
• cardiovascular disease
• inflammation
• rheumatoid arthritis

Objectives %26lt;br%26gt;Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory disease associated with accelerated atherosclerosis and high risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease. Angiopoietin-2 (Angpt-2), a marker of endothelial cell activation, has been proposed as a mediator of angiogenesis, which might play an important role in the regulation of endothelial integrity and inflammation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine whether Angpt-2 is related to severity and CV disease in RA patients. %26lt;br%26gt;Methods %26lt;br%26gt;Angpt-2 serum levels were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 290 patients with RA. A control group of 100 individuals frequency matched by age and sex and classic CV risk factors and CV disease was also assessed. %26lt;br%26gt;Results %26lt;br%26gt;Eighty-four patients with RA (28.9%) had experienced CV events. Also, extra-articular manifestations were present in 41 (14%) of these patients. Although there were not significant differences between patients and controls, a correlation between age at the time of disease onset and Angpt-2 was observed in RA patients (r=-0.31; p=0.02). Angpt-2 serum levels also correlated positively with extra-articular disease (mean +/- standard deviation in RA patients with and without extra-articular manifestations were 2476 +/- 1716 pg/ml and 18971 +/- 1228 pg/ml, respectively; p=0.01). Moreover, after adjustment for sex, age at RA diagnosis and CV risk factors, Angpt-2 levels were higher in RA patients with CV disease than in RA patients without CV complications (2472 +/- 1826 pg/ml vs. 1875 +/- 1101 pg/ml; p=0.05). Angpt-2 serum levels remained significantly higher in RA patients with CV disease compared to those without CV disease after additional adjustment for extra-articular manifestations (p=0.04). %26lt;br%26gt;Conclusion %26lt;br%26gt;Our results show that Angpt-2 serum levels correlate with disease severity, early onset and CV disease in RA patients.

• 出版日期2013-10