Elevated plasma levels of endostatin are associated with chronic kidney disease

Angiogenesis may play an important role in the renal repair process after injury. We investigated the association between plasma endostatin, an endothelial-specific antiangiogenic factor, and chronic kidney disease (CKD).

We compared plasma endostatin levels in 201 CKD patients and 201 controls. CKD was defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 ml/min/1.73 m(2) or presence of albuminuria (≥30 mg/24 h).

After adjustment for established CKD risk factors, the median (interquartile range) of plasma endostatin was 276.7 ng/dl (199.3-357.5) in patients with CKD and 119.4 ng/dl (103.7-134.6) in controls without CKD (p < 0.0001 for group difference). log-transformed plasma endostatin was significantly and inversely correlated with eGFR (r = -0.83, p < 0.0001) and positively correlated with log-transformed urine albumin (r = 0.66, p < 0.0001) in the study participants. In addition, one standard deviation increase in log-transformed plasma endostatin (0.55 ng/dl) was associated with a decline in eGFR of -26.2 ml/min and an increase in urine albumin of 3.26 mg/ 24 h after adjusting for multiple covariables. Furthermore, the multivariable-adjusted odds ratio for CKD comparing the highest tertile (≥131.4 ng/dl) to the two lower tertiles of plasma endostatin was 21.6 (95% CI: 10.2-45.5; p < 0.0001).

These data indicate that elevated plasma endostatin is strongly and independently associated with CKD. Prospective cohort studies and clinical trials are warranted to further examine the causal relationship between endostatin and risk of CKD and to develop novel interventions targeting circulating endostatin aimed at reducing CKD risk.