Table 1. Demographics, biochemical characteristics, arterial and muscle expression of the CDKN2A/B locus as well as the arterial expression of RUNX2 and Matrix Gla Protein.
| Demography | Total (n=61) | No VC (n=9) | Mild VC (n=32) | Moderate VC (n=16) | Severe VC (n=4) | P-value |
| Age, years | 45 (33-52) | 28 (24-30) | 44 (36-51) | 49 (40-56) | 53 (46-60) | p<0.0001 |
| Males, n | 42 | 5 | 20 | 13 | 4 | p=0.1371 a |
| Cardiovascular disease, n | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | p=0.0464 a |
| Vintage, years | 0.3 (0-1.1) | 0.7 (0-1.0) | 0.3 (0-1.0) | 0.6 (0-1.2) | 1.4 (0.3-2.0) | p=0.8156 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 23.8 (21.8-26.3) | 21.0 (19.8-25.7) | 23.5 (21.7-26.2) | 24.8 (22.6-26.7) | 23.2 (22.3-26.8) | p=0.5453 |
| Metabolism | ||||||
| Creatinine, μmol/L | 739 (577-907) | 760 (519-1146) | 761 (592- 986) | 800 (598-906) | 914 (806-933) | p=0.9366 |
| Cholesterol, mmol/L | 4.6 (3.9-5.3) | 4.4 (3.9-4.8) | 4.4 (3.8-5.1) | 5.1 (4.3-6.0) | 4.7 (3.8-7.2) | p=0.0853 |
| Triglyceride, mmol/L | 1.2 (0.9-1.7) | 1.0 (0.7-1.5) | 1.1 (0.9-1.5) | 1.4 (1.1-1.8) | 1.4 (1.1-2.9) | p=0.2950 |
| HDL-cholesterol, mmol/L | 1.4 (1.1-1.6) | 1.6 (1.3-1.9) | 1.4 (1.1-1.6) | 1.3 (1.0-1.5) | 1.2 (1.1-2.3) | p=0.4383 |
| IGF-1, ng/ml b | 255 (175-289) | 283 (261-326) | 251 (183-291) | 233 (175-282) | 168 (147-370) | p=0.5116 |
| Testosterone, mmol/L c | 12.3 (8.7-15.7) | 11.2 (6.5-28.6) | 13.1 (9.2-15.8) | 11.0 (7.5-15.5) | 10.7 (7.2-18.7) | p=0.6819 |
| Inflammation & oxidative stress | ||||||
| hsCRP, mg/L | 0.9 (0.5-2.5) | 0.6 (0.4-1.6) | 1.3 (0.5-3.0) | 0.8 (0.5-1.5) | 2.0 (0.5-9.4) | p=0.8237 |
| IL-6, pg/mL | 0.9 (0.5-1.8) | 1.0 (0.3-1.8) | 0.9 (0.6-2.1) | 0.6 (0.3-1.4) | 1.7 (1.4-16.5) | p=0.0480 |
| IL-8, pg/mL | 5.3 (3.5-7.9) | 5.9 (2.3-8.5) | 5.4 (3.6-8.3) | 4.4 (3.1-7.7) | 7.4 (4.8-11.3) | p=0.4705 |
| TNF, pg/mL | 10.7 (9.0-13.1) | 9.7 (8.0-14.7) | 10.8 (9.3-12.9) | 10.4 (8.5-12.6) | 13.1 (12.2-16.7) | p=0.4624 |
| Albumin, g/L | 37 (33-39) | 32 (31-38) | 37 (35-39) | 37 (33-39) | 36 (32-42) | p=0.0754 |
| Pentosidine, nmol/L d | 855 (609-1212) | 650 (466-1735) | 935 (691-1225) | 752 (607-1393) | 886 (696-984) | p=0.9495 |
| 8-OHdG, ng/mL d | 0.18 (0.13-0.27) | 0.14 (0.08-0.19) | 0.21 (0.15-0.26) | 0.16 (0.10-0.27) | 0.30 (0.04-0.42) | p=0.4616 |
| Calcification & bone markers | ||||||
| CAC score, HU e | 0 (0-111) | 0 (0-0) | 0 (0-90) | 13 (1-171) | 541 (28-1702) | p=0.0154 |
| Media calcification, % f | 1.8 (0.5-5.5) | 0.2 (0-0.3) | 1.2 (0.5-2.5) | 4.9 (0.3-9.7) | 25.3 (2.5-32.9) | p<0.0001 |
| Calcium, mmol/L | 2.3 (2.2-2.4) | 2.2 (2.1-2.4) | 2.4 (2.2-2.5) | 2.3 (2.2-2.4) | 2.2 (2.0-2.3) | p=0.2136 |
| Phosphate, mmol/L | 1.8 (1.5-2.1) | 1.6 (1.4-2.1) | 1.8 (1.4-2.2) | 1.9 (1.5-2.1) | 1.4 (0.9-1.5) | p=0.2679 |
| Magnesium, mmol/L | 0.9 (0.8-1.0) | 0.8 (0.7-1.0) | 0.8 (0.8-0.9) | 0.9 (0.7-1.0) | 0.9 (0.7-1.1) | p=0.7395 |
| iPTH, ng/L | 258 (190-400) | 216 (181-286) | 252 (190-384) | 371 (228-583) | 127 (85-210) | p=0.1306 |
| 25-OH D-vitamin, mmol/L g | 39 (27-55) | 33 (23-46) | 37 (27-48) | 51 (26-82) | 39 (38-44) | p=0.1777 |
| 1,25-OH D-vitamin, pmol/L g | 18 (13-27) | 17 (12-19) | 18 (13-28) | 18 (12-29) | 18 (7-49) | p=0.6277 |
| FGF-23, pg/ml d | 3353 (1114-31809) | 5909 (1901-15150 | 3134 (453-33973) | 4461 (1651-58853) | 2184 (758-11994) | p=0.4184 |
| Klotho, pg/ml h | 395 (297-520) | 509 (434-625) | 349 (260-480) | 391 (307-489) | 409 (320-499) | p=0.3608 |
| Alkaline phosphatase, U/L i | 60.6 (49.6-89.2) | 66.7 (47.2-126.1) | 60.2 (50.3-82.7) | 56.9 (47.9-78.1) | 90.3 (47.0-113.1) | p=0.5853 |
| Osteoprotegerin, pmol/L | 5.9 (5.1-7.3) | 5.3 (4.2-5.8) | 6.1 (4.9-7.0) | 5.8 (5.5-7.9) | 9.3 (7.4-14.9) | p=0.0049 |
| MID osteocalcin, ng/ml h | 83.6 (37.3-184.9) | 76.4 (27.5-148.3) | 125.4 (41.9-220.1) | 80.6 (48.6-204.3) | 24.9 (7.0-147.6) | p=0.4709 |
| GLA osteocalcin, ng/ml j | 42.5 (22.3-66.0) | 41.6 (26.7-62.4) | 49.1 (22.4-66.8) | 40.2 (27.8-74.7) | 12.8 (8.5-27.3) | p=0.3225 |
| GLU osteocalcin, ng/ml j | 28.4 (8.0-56.5) | 25.5 (15.7-77.6) | 33.2 (9.4-56.8) | 31.3 (6.9-75.4) | 2.6 (1.5-33.0) | p=0.5455 |
| Vascular expression (RQ) | ||||||
| CDKN2B/p15INK4a k | 1.35 (0.81-1.87) | 1.91 (0.78-2.49) | 1.28 (0.97-1.74) | 1.58 (0.81-2.00) | 1.16 (0.36-2.26) | p=0.3982 |
| CDKN2A/p16INK4a | 1.04 (0.25-1.02) | 0.94 (0.45-1.20) | 1.02 (0.62-1.62) | 1.12 (0.49-1.69) | 2.60 (1.18-5.05) | p=0.0108 |
| RUNX2 h | 1.56 (1.02-2.81) | 2.09 (1.00-3.04) | 1.12 (1.00-2.01) | 1.55 (1.31-2.34) | 6.12 (3.89-6.13) | p=0.0036 |
| Matrix Gla proteinf | 0.88 (0.61-1.30) | 0.70 (0.45-1.00) | 0.87 (0.58-1.25) | 0.91 (0.62-1.40) | 2.33 (0.70-3.65) | p=0.0002 |
| Muscular expression (RQ) | ||||||
| CDKN2A/p16INK4a l | 0.63 (0.25-1.02) | 0.35 (0.10-0.86) | 0.45 (0.24-0.94) | 0.63 (0.29-2.22) | 0.88 (0.60-1.28) | p=0.7292 |
All continuous data are given as median (interquartile range).
HU = Hounsfield units; CDKN2 = Cyclin-dependent kinas; RQ = Relative quantity; PTH = Parathyroid hormone; hsCRP = high-sensitivity C-reactive protein; IL-6 = Interleukin-6; IL-8 = Interleukin-8; TNF = Tumour necrosis factor; HDL = High-density lipoprotein, 8-OHdG = 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine, CAC = coronary artery calcification, RUNX2 = runt-related transcription factor 2 a; chi square, b; n=59; c; n=39, d; n=41, e; n=47, f; n=54, g; n=49, h; n=48, i;=44, j; n=52, k; n=58, l; n=50