The correlation between serum SGK1 and vascular calcification in maintenance hemodialysis patients

Objective To investigate the association between serum and glucocorticoid induced protein kinase 1(SGK1)level and vascular calcification in maintenance hemodialysis(MHD)patients,providing theoretical basis for exploration for pathogenesis of vascular calcificationin MHD patients. Methods A total of 60 patients with MHD who were followed up in Department of Nephrology of the Affiliated Qingdao Hospital of Shandong First Medical University were enrolled in the study between January 2019 and December 2019.Vascular calcification of the MHD patients was detected by thoracic and abdominal computed tomography.According to whether calcification or plaque exists in thoracic aorta,abdominal aorta and coronary artery,all the subjects were divided into vascular calcification group and non-vascular calcification group.Clinical data,including sex,age,dialysis age,BMI,previous medical history(hypertension,et al),serum phosphorus,serum calcium,parathyroid hormone,calcium-phosphorus product,glycosylated hemoglobin,blood creatinine and urea nitrogen before and after hemodialysis,urea reduction ratio(URR)and other indicators,were compared between groups.In addition,the serum SGK1 in patients with MHD was determined by enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay. Results The age,dialysis age,hypertension proportion,smoking history,values of C-reactive protein,glycosylated hemoglobin,serum phosphorus,intact parathyroid hormone,calcium-phosphorus product,and ALP levels were higher in the vascular calcification group,compared with those in the non-vascular calcification group,with all statistically significant differences(P<0.05).Compared with the non-vascular calcification group,the vascular calcification group showed an significant increase in serum SGK1 level(P<0.05).The level of serum SGK1 was associated with serum phosphorus,intact parathyroid hormone(iPTH)and calcium-phosphorus product(P<0.05).The Logistic regress analysis showed that dialysis age,serum phosphorus,iPTH,calcium-phosphorus product and the high SGK1 level were the independent risk factors for vascular calcification in maintenance hemodialysis patients(P<0.05). Conclusions The significant increase of serum SGK1 with vascular calcification is an independent risk factor for vascular calcificationin maintenance hemodialysis patients.SGK1 maybe plays a critical role in vascular calcification.