Increased serum high-mobility group box-1 and cleaved receptor for advanced glycation endproducts levels and decreased endogenous secretory receptor for advanced glycation endproducts levels in diabetic and non-diabetic patients with heart failure

Aims High-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) is a ligand for the receptor for advanced glycation endproducts (RAGE). An HMGB1-RAGE interaction has been implicated in cardiac dysfunction. We assessed the association of HMGB1 and RAGE isoforms with heart failure (HF) in diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Methods and results We assayed serum levels of HMGB1, cleaved RAGE (cRAGE), endogenous secretory RAGE (esRAGE), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in parallel with assessment of left ventricular volumes and function in 125 diabetic and 222 non-diabetic Chinese patients with chronic HF. Of the total, 79 diabetic patients without HF and 220 normal subjects served as diabetic and normal controls, respectively. Serum HMGB1, cRAGE, hsCRP, and NT-proBNP levels were higher and, in contrast, esRAGE levels lower in HF patients than in subjects without HF (for all; P < 0.01), with higher levels of cRAGE and hsCRP in diabetic HF vs. non-diabetic HF patients (P < 0.01). For HF patients-with or without diabetes-HMGB1 levels correlated positively with left ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes (r = 0.267 and r = 0.321, respectively) and NT-proBNP values (r = 0.497), and were inversely related to ejection fraction (r = -0.461; all P < 0.001). Serum cRAGE levels correlated with NT-proBNP values (r = 0.451) and New York Heart Association functional class (r = 0.402; both P < 0.001). Multivariable regression analysis revealed that HMGB1, cRAGE, and esRAGE were consistently associated with HF in diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Conclusion Heart failure patients have increased serum HMGB1 and cRAGE and decreased esRAGE levels, and these are related to the severity of HF in both diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Such associations are worth further investigation.