Introduction:
Soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), a circulating signaling protein and marker of immune activation, has been linked to incident and progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD) in select patient populations, often with few African Americans.
Hypothesis:
We assessed the hypothesis that higher circulating levels of suPAR are associated with risk for progression of hypertension-attributed CKD in African Americans.
Methods:
We quantified baseline plasma levels of suPAR in participants of the African-American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension (AASK), a clinical trial of African Americans with hypertension-attributed CKD, and regular assessment of measured glomerular filtration rate (mGFR), and proteinuria. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to assess the associations of suPAR with CKD progression (defined as doubling of serum creatinine or end-stage renal disease [ESRD]), ESRD, worsening proteinuria (pre-ESRD doubling of 24-hour urine protein to creatinine ratio [UPCR] to ≥220 mg/g), and all-cause death.
Results:
Among 955 AASK participants, the median baseline suPAR was 4462 pg/mL (25
th
to 75
th
percentile: 3425-5923 pg/mL), mean mGFR was 46 mL/min per 1.73 m
2
, and median 24-hour UPCR was 79.6 mg/g. After controlling for baseline demographics, AASK trial arm, mGFR, proteinuria,
APOL1
risk status, and clinical risk factors, there was a 1.42-times higher risk for CKD progression per two-fold higher baseline suPAR (HR 1.42, 95% CI: 1.17-1.71,
p
<0.001). Higher suPAR was also independently associated with ESRD (HR 1.59, 95% CI: 1.26-2.00,
p
<0.001) and death (HR 1.40, 95% CI: 1.12-1.75,
p
=0.003). Only in patients with two
APOL1
risk alleles was suPAR associated with worsening proteinuria (HR 1.77, 95% CI 1.11-2.82,
p
=0.016;
p
interaction
=0.008).
Conclusion:
Our study provides evidence of associations between higher suPAR levels and risk for various adverse outcomes in African Americans with hypertension-attributed CKD, independent of proteinuria and GFR.
Sex Differences in Circulating Soluble Urokinase‐Type Plasminogen Activator Receptor (suPAR) Levels and Adverse Outcomes in Coronary Artery Disease
