Serum osteoprotegerin level is associated with degree of arteriovenous fistula stenosis in patients with hemodialysis

Aims: Vascular access dysfunction caused by stenosis is a major complication for hemodialysis (HD) patients. However, the relevant humoral mediators of arteriovenous (AV) access stenosis are still under investigation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between serum fetuin-A, osteoprotegerin (OPG), and heat shock protein (Hsp) 70 concentration with arteriovenous fistula (AVF) patency in HD patients. Methods: Serum fetuin-A, OPG and Hsp70 concentrations were measured in 64 HD patients. Using these data, we studied the association of fetuin-A, OPG and Hsp70 with the degree of AVF stenosis using ultrasonography in HD patients. Results: The degree of AVF stenosis was positively correlated with OPG levels (r = 0.411, p = 0.001) and OPG/fetuin-A ratio (r = 0.375, p = 0.002). The levels of OPG and OPG/fetuin-A ratio were statistically higher in the group of AVF stenosis >= 11.5%. Stepwise linear regression analyses independently predicted the degree of AVF stenosis on the logarithmic function of the OPG = (beta = 8.775, standard error = 0.493, p = 0.034) and OPG/fetuin-A ratio (beta = 10.325, standard error = 3.247, p = 0.018). Conclusions: Our data demonstrated that OPG and the OPG/fetuin-A ratio correlated with the degree of AVF stenosis in HD patients. In addition, OPG and the OPG/fetuin-A ratio were the most important predictors of the degree of AVF stenosis in HD patients.