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Dimethylarginines: their vascular and metabolic roles in Africans and Caucasians
Aletta E Schutte1, Rudolph Schutte, Hugo W Huisman
1Hypertension in Africa Research Team, School for Physiology, Nutrition and Consumer Sciences, North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus), Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa. alta.schutte@nwu.ac.za
Insights
Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is linked to vascular dysfunction in African men and Caucasian women. Symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) shows a negative association with insulin resistance in Caucasians only.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Research
- Metabolic Health
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Hypertension and type 2 diabetes are rising in African populations.
- Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) are linked to cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance in Caucasians.
- Limited data exists on ADMA and SDMA in African populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between ADMA and SDMA with arterial stiffness and insulin resistance (IR).
- To compare these relationships in African and Caucasian populations in South Africa.
Main Methods:
- Study included 235 healthy African (n=64) and Caucasian (n=171) adults (aged 20-70).
- Measurements included blood pressure, pulse wave velocity, ADMA, SDMA, and IR (HOMA).
Main Results:
- ADMA correlated with arterial stiffness in African men and Caucasian women.
- SDMA showed a negative association with IR in Caucasian participants, particularly men.
- ADMA and SDMA levels were similar in men but higher in Caucasian women compared to African women.
Conclusions:
- ADMA is independently associated with vascular dysfunction in African men and Caucasian women.
- SDMA is independently and negatively associated with IR exclusively in Caucasian participants.
- Further experimental research is needed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying these findings.
Objective:
Alarming increases in hypertension and type 2 diabetes among Africans accentuate the need to identify factors that could serve as targets for prevention or treatment. In Caucasian populations, asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), the predominant endogenous nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, is associated with cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance (IR). ADMA's counterpart, symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA), originally thought to be inert, was recently also linked with cardiovascular risk. Since little information regarding ADMA or SDMA is available for Africans, our aim was to explore the relationships of ADMA and SDMA with measures of arterial stiffness and IR in Africans and Caucasians from South Africa.
Methods:
The study consisted of 235 nonsmoking, nondiabetic, nonobese, human immunodeficiency virus-uninfected Africans (n=64) and Caucasians (n=171), aged 20-70 years. We measured blood pressure, pulse wave velocity, ADMA, SDMA, and IR (homeostasis model assessment, HOMA).
Results:
African and Caucasian men had similar ADMA and SDMA, whereas Caucasian women had higher ADMA and SDMA than African women (P<0.05). African men and Caucasian women indicated strong correlations of ADMA with arterial stiffness (r=0.47, P=0.021; r=0.26, P=0.008), confirmed in multivariate analyses. Caucasian participants showed negative associations between SDMA and HOMA, being strongest in the men (r=-0.41; P=0.002).
Conclusion:
Our results indicate that ADMA is independently associated with vascular dysfunction in African men and Caucasian women. A strong, independent negative association of SDMA with IR was found only in Caucasian participants. The molecular explanation for this is unclear, but these findings motivate experimental studies that could shed more light on these relationships.
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