Serum Osteopontin Level Correlates with Carotid-Femoral Pulse Wave Velocity in Kidney Transplantation Patients

BACKGROUND: Osteopontin (OPN) is a potent inhibitor for mineralization and is a potent inducible inhibitor for vascular calcification. This study aimed to investigate the relationships of fasting serum OPN levels and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) in kidney transplantation (KT) patients. METHODS: Fasting blood samples were obtained from 50 KT patients. cfPWV were measured by SphygmoCor system. Serum OPN levels were measured using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: The univariable linear regression analysis showed that waist circumference (＂r＂: 0.337; ＂P＂=0.017), logarithmically transformed creatinine (log-Creatinine; ＂r＂: 0.337; ＂P＂=0.017), pulse pressure (＂r＂: 0.339; ＂P＂=0.016), and the log-OPN concentration (＂r＂: 0.428; ＂P＂=0.002) were positively correlated with cfPWV levels in KT patients. Multivariable forward stepwise linear regression analysis of the significant variables also showed that log-OPN (＂β＂=0.383, ＂R＂ square=0.183, ＂P＂=0.002) was still positively associated with cfPWV levels in KT patients. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that serum OPN levels positively associated with cfPWV levels in KT patients.