Markers of bone remodeling are associated with arterial stiffness in renal transplanted subjects

Background Bone-vessel interaction in chronic renal failure remains poorly understood and could be driven by bone remodeling factors including osteoprotegerin (OPG), fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), parathormone and vitamin D. Only few data are available in renal transplantation. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between bone remodeling factors and large artery function in renal transplant patients. Methods 89 renal transplant patients were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Carotid to femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) and central augmentation index (AIx) were determined as an estimation of large artery function. Blood samples were collected for measurement of vascular risk markers. Independent predictors were identified by multivariate linear regression through backward feature selection using Akaike's information criteria. Results At multivariate analysis, age (p < 0.001) and systolic arterial pressure (p = 0.003) were significantly associated with PWV but not AIx. In addition, both elevated blood concentrations of 1.25(OH)(2) vitamin D (p = 0.013) and OPG (p = 0.047) were still significantly related to high PWV. Conclusions These results underline that age and mean arterial pressure are the main determinants of PWV following renal transplantation. Among bone remodeling biomarkers, plasma OPG and active vitamin D were the strongest determinants of arterial stiffness.