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Calcification of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells and Imaging of Aortic Calcification and Inflammation
Published on: May 31, 2016
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Is calcium a link between inflammatory bone resorption and heart disease?
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, United States.
Elife
|December 29, 2022
Summary
Chronic inflammation increases heart disease risk. Children’s calcium regulation protects against this, unlike adults, potentially preventing cardiovascular disease.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Disease and Inflammation
- Endocrinology and Bone Metabolism
Background:
- Bone-resorbing chronic inflammatory conditions, such as osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis, are linked to increased atherosclerotic heart disease risk.
- Anti-resorptive agents have shown reduced mortality in various clinical settings.
- Burn patients reveal age-dependent mechanisms in calcium regulation during inflammation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of calcium regulation via the calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) in mediating the relationship between chronic inflammation and cardiovascular disease risk.
- To explore age-related differences in CaSR response to inflammatory cytokines.
Main Methods:
- Epidemiologic study analysis.
- Clinical observation in burn patients (children and adolescents).
- Comparative analysis of CaSR responsiveness in children versus adults with chronic inflammatory conditions.
Main Results:
- Children and adolescents exhibit a protective mechanism: pro-inflammatory cytokines up-regulate the parathyroid calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR), leading to hypocalcemic hypoparathyroidism and hypercalciuria.
- This CaSR responsiveness in youth may mitigate cardiovascular morbidity and mortality by limiting extracellular calcium.
- Adults with chronic inflammatory conditions lose this CaSR responsiveness, allowing circulating calcium to promote coronary artery calcification and cardiovascular disease.
Conclusions:
- Age-dependent regulation of CaSR by inflammatory cytokines is a critical factor in cardiovascular risk associated with chronic inflammation.
- The loss of CaSR responsiveness in adults contributes to the development of atherosclerotic heart disease.
- Targeting CaSR pathways may offer novel therapeutic strategies for preventing cardiovascular complications in chronic inflammatory diseases.
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