Mimecan plays an important role in endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cell integrity and may be involved the pathology of arterial stiffness; however, the role of mimecan in arterial stiffness in patients with hypertension is not well defined.

Arterial stiffness is recognized to be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and it is the root cause of a range of CV complications, including myocardial infarction (MI), left ventricular hypertrophy, stroke, renal failure, dementia, and death, as well as a hallmark of the aging process.

Scientists at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University (Suzhou, China), enrolled a total of 116 hypertension patients and 54 healthy controls to investigated the association between serum mimecan concentration and arterial stiffness, as measured by brachial‐ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), in patients with hypertension. Hypertensive patients were divided into two groups: 83 with arterial stiffness defined by a baPWV of equal to or greater than 1,400 cm/s; and the 3, in the without arterial stiffness group, whose baPWV was less than 1,400 cm/s.

Routine biochemical measurements were performed on each blood sample using an AU5400 automated chemistry analyzer (Beckman Coulter; Fullerton, CA, USA). Circulating mimecan concentrations were determined using the human mimecan enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit (antibodies‐online Inc., Atlanta, GA, USA) that has a detection range of this kit is 20 ng/mL to 0.313 ng/mL and sensitivity is 0.133 ng/mL. Circulating endothelin 1 (ET‐1) concentrations were determined using the human ET‐1 ELISA kit (R&D Systems; Minneapolis, MN, USA) that has detection range of 0.34 to 250 pg/mL and its sensitivity is 0.102 pg/mL.

Hypertensive patients had higher baPWV, mimecan, and endothelin 1 than healthy controls. Mean mimecan levels were 13.7ng/mL in the hypertensive group compared to 8.32 ng/mL in the healthy controls. The arterial stiffness group had higher mimecan and endothelin 1 (ET‐1) and lower ankle‐brachial pressure index (ABI) than those without stiffness. In hypertensive patients, mimecan was inversely correlated with ABI and positively correlated with baPWV, ET‐1, and total cholesterol. Diastolic blood pressure, mimecan, ET‐1, and creatinine were independent predictors of arterial stiffness in hypertensive patients.

The authors conclude that mimecan levels are higher in hypertensive patients than in healthy controls and increased plasma mimecan levels are independently associated with increased arterial stiffness as assessed by baPWV. The study was published on July 23, 2015, in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA).

Related Links:
Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University 
Beckman Coulter 
antibodies‐online Inc.