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Association Between Serum SFRP1 Levels and Coronary Artery Calcification in Stage 5D Chronic Kidney Disease

H Chen1, J Jin, M Cheng

  • 1Hebei Clinical Research Center for Chronic Kidney Disease, Hebei Key Laboratory of Vascular Calcification in Kidney Disease, Department of Nephrology, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China.

Physiological Research
|May 26, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Elevated serum Secreted Frizzled-Related Protein 1 (SFRP1) levels are linked to coronary artery calcification (CAC) in patients with Stage 5D chronic kidney disease (CKD) on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). SFRP1 may serve as a biomarker for identifying at-risk individuals.

Area of Science:

  • Nephrology
  • Cardiology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Patients with Stage 5D chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) have a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease, particularly coronary artery calcification (CAC).
  • Secreted Frizzled-Related Protein 1 (SFRP1) is a protein that plays a role in Wnt signaling, which is implicated in vascular calcification.
  • The association between SFRP1 levels and CAC in this specific patient population remains under-investigated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between serum SFRP1 levels and the presence and severity of CAC in patients with Stage 5D CKD on MHD.
  • To identify potential biomarkers for predicting CAC in this high-risk group.

Main Methods:

  • A case-control study was conducted with 76 patients undergoing MHD.
  • Patients were stratified into non-calcified, low-score calcification, and high-score calcification groups based on Coronary Artery Calcium Scores (CACS).
  • Serum SFRP1 and various biochemical parameters were measured; correlation and multivariate linear regression analyses were performed.

Main Results:

  • Coronary artery calcification (CAC) was present in 60.5% of the study population.
  • Serum SFRP1 concentrations were significantly higher in patients with high-score CAC compared to other groups (p < 0.01).
  • SFRP1 and phosphorus levels were identified as independent risk factors for CAC (p < 0.05), with SFRP1 demonstrating a high predictive value (AUC = 0.898).

Conclusions:

  • Elevated serum SFRP1 levels are significantly associated with an increased likelihood and severity of CAC in patients with Stage 5D CKD on MHD.
  • SFRP1 emerges as a potential novel biomarker for early detection and risk stratification of CAC in this vulnerable patient cohort.
  • Further research is warranted to explore the therapeutic implications of targeting SFRP1 in CKD-related cardiovascular complications.

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