Elevated Soluble Podoplanin Associates with Hypercoagulability in Patients with Nephrotic Syndrome

Podoplanin (PDPN) promotes platelet aggregation and activation by interacting with C-type lectin-like receptor 2(CLEC-2) on platelets. The interaction between the upregulated PDPN and platelet CLEC-2 stimulates venous thrombosis. PDPN was identified as a risk factor for coagulation and thrombosis in inflammatory processes. Hypercoagulability is defined as the tendency to develop thrombosis according to fibrinogen and/or D dimer levels. Nephrotic syndrome is also considered to be a hypercoagulable state. The aim of this study is to investigate the association of soluble PDPN/CLEC-2 with hypercoagulability in nephrotic syndrome. Thirty-five patients with nephrotic syndrome and twenty-seven healthy volunteers were enrolled. PDPN, CLEC-2 and GPVI concentrations were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Patients with nephrotic syndrome showed higher serum levels of PDPN and GPVI in comparison to healthy controls (P < .001, P = .001). PDPN levels in patients with nephrotic syndrome were significantly correlated with GPVI (r = 0.311; P = .025), hypoalbuminemia (r = −0.735; P < .001), hypercholesterolemia (r = 0.665; P < .001), hypertriglyceridemia (r = 0.618; P < .001), fibrinogen (r = 0.606; P < .001) and D-dimer (r = 0.524; P < .001). Area under the curve (AUC) for the prediction of hypercoagulability in nephrotic syndrome using PDPN was 0.886 (95% CI 0.804-0.967, P < .001). Cut-off value for the risk probability was 5.88 ng/ml. The sensitivity of PDPN in predicting hypercoagulability was 0.806, and the specificity was 0.846. When serum PDPN was >5.88 ng/ml, the risk of hypercoagulability was significantly increased in nephrotic syndrome (OR = 22.79, 95% CI 5.92-87.69, P < .001). In conclusion, soluble PDPN levels were correlated with hypercoagulability in nephrotic syndrome. PDPN has the better predictive value of hypercoagulability in nephrotic syndrome as well as was a reliable indicator of hypercoagulable state.