This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Connective tissue growth factor associated with microalbuminuria development
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Plasma connective tissue growth factor may help detect the risk for renal and vascular disease in patients with type 1 diabetes, according to researchers.
Researchers from the University of South Carolina in Charleston and FibroGen Inc. in San Francisco studied connective tissue growth factor as a determinant of renal and vascular complications. The patient population included 1,050 patients with type 1 diabetes from the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications study group. Researchers measured connective tissue growth factor levels, both circulating and urinary, along with connective tissue growth factor N fragment.
Compared with normotensive participants, those with hypertension had elevated levels of plasma log connective tissue growth factor N fragment (P=.0005). The researchers also found an independent and positive link between log albumin excretion rate and connective tissue growth factor N fragment levels (P<.0001). Connective tissue growth factor N fragment was also associated with common and internal carotid intima-media thickness.
Patients with concomitantly plasma connective tissue growth factor N fragment elevations and macroalbuminuria had a higher relative risk for increased carotid intima-media thickness than those with normal connective tissue growth factor N fragment and normal albuminuria (RR=4.76%; P<.0001). – by Stacey L . Adams
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008;doi:10.1210/jc.2007-2544.
This study has developed an assay for CTGF, which in the past has been difficult. Researchers used samples from the DCCT/EDIC study, which is a great study. They used this new assay to determine if they could correlate the changes in the CTGF with either kidney function or thickening of the carotid artery. The important finding is that they provide suggestive evidence that CTGF could be a marker for these two complications. If that’s true, then potentially, lowering CTGF could be a new treatment for these complications.
I don’t think this information is ready for clinical arenas, yet. This is a nice preliminary clinical study, but it really needs to be confirmed whether or not CTGF levels could be a marker for these complications. Is it also important to know whether CTGF levels are better than HbA1c? This is an important question that this paper did not address. If we already have HbA1c, why do we need CTGF levels unless it has better predictive value? The advantages of this assay over others have to be proven; otherwise it will simply increase healthcare costs.
– George King, MD
Director of Research and Head of the Section on Vascular
Cell Biology
Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston