Impact of kidney transplantation on aortic stiffness and aortic stiffness index β0

Marie Pier Desjardins, Aboubacar Sidibé, Catherine Fortier, Fabrice Mac-Way, Sacha De Serres, Richard Larivière, Bart Spronck, Rémi Goupil, Mohsen Agharazii*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    8 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Background: In chronic kidney disease, the enhanced aortic stiffness increases risk of cardiovascular events. Kidney transplantation (KTx) may improve aortic stiffness; however, it is unclear whether the improvement of aortic stiffness is merely the outcome of the reduction of blood pressure (BP) post-KTx. Furthermore, the long-term trajectory of aortic stiffness remains uncertain, as activation of the immune system may have a negative long-term impact on arterial wall property. Method: Using aortic stiffness β0 as a BP-independent stiffness parameter, and a statistical adjustment for BP, we aimed to examine the early vs. late changes in aortic stiffness, and to define the characteristics of patients with favourable and unfavourable long-term trajectories of aortic stiffness. In this longitudinal study, aortic stiffness was assessed before, 3, 6 and 24 months after KTx in 79 individuals. Aortic stiffness was determined by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV), and aortic stiffness index β0 was obtained by applying the stiffness parameter β0 theory to cf-PWV based on Bramwell-Hill's equation using a reference pressure. Results: There was an early reduction of β0 3 months after KTx (29.0 ± 2.0 to 25.8 ± 1.2, P = 0.033) followed by a gradual increase at 6 (28.0 ± 1.4, P = 0.005 vs. 3 months) and 24 months (28.3 ± 1.3, P = 0.003 vs. 3 months). A late increase in β0 was associated with higher levels of the interleukin-6 (P = 0.029) even after adjustment for potential cofounders. Using statistical adjustments for BP showed similar results. Conclusion: Reduction of aortic stiffness index β0 3 months after KTx suggests that KTx leads to an early de-stiffening of the intrinsic mechanical properties of aorta. However, this improvement is followed by a later stiffening, which is associated with increased interleukin-6, suggesting that activation of the immune system may be involved in arterial wall remodelling in kidney recipients.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1521-1528
    Number of pages8
    JournalJournal of Hypertension
    Volume37
    Issue number7
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2019

    Keywords

    • aortic stiffness
    • aortic stiffness index β0
    • chronic kidney disease
    • kidney transplantation

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