Circulating pentraxin 3 is positively associated with chronic hyperglycemia but negatively associated with plasma aldosterone concentration

Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is reported to be a vascular inflammation marker providing prognostic information of vasculopathy. Until today, however, the effect of aldosterone or oxidative stress on the regulation of PTX3 is unknown. In present study, we investigated to find regulative factors, especially aldosterone and oxidative stress, on PTX3. Serum PTX3 levels were measured in 75 patients (45 male and 30 women, aged 55.1±13.4 year-old (mean±SD)) with various endocrine disorders including 47 with diabetes, 24 with primary aldosteronism (PA). All participants were free from cardio vascular diseases and diabetic retinopathy. Serum PTX3 level was significantly lower in patients with PA than without PA and was significantly higher in patients with diabetes than without diabetes. PTX3 was significantly correlated with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), urinary albumin excretion (UAE) and plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) (r = 0.431, P<0.001; r = 0.313, P = 0.009; r = -0.375, P = 0.004). A stepwise multiple regression analysis chose HbA1c and UAE as independent determinants of PTX3 (β = 0.282, P<0.001; β = 0.783, P<0.001). On the other hand, PTX3 was not significantly correlated with HbA1c and UAE but significantly negatively correlated with PAC in patients with diabetes. Therefore, it might be suggested that PTX3 is positively regulated by chronic hyperglycemia but negatively regulated by aldosterone, and is associated with urinary albumin excretion as a micro vasculopathy.