Angiopoietin-Like Protein 4 May Be an Interplay Between Serum Uric Acid and Triglyceride-Rich Lipoprotein Cholesterol

Yani Peng; Die Hu; Qingting Luo; Daoquan Peng

doi:10.3389/fcvm.2022.863687

Angiopoietin-Like Protein 4 May Be an Interplay Between Serum Uric Acid and Triglyceride-Rich Lipoprotein Cholesterol

Front Cardiovasc Med. 2022 May 31:9:863687. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2022.863687. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Yani Peng¹, Die Hu^{2

3}, Qingting Luo², Daoquan Peng^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Metabolism and Endocrinology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
² Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
³ Research Institute of Blood Lipid and Atherosclerosis, Central South University, Changsha, China.

Abstract

Background: Although the available evidence has indicated a link between elevated serum uric acid (SUA) level and dyslipidemia, the potential contribution of SUA on lipid profiles remains unclear. Experimental and clinical studies have revealed several mechanisms through which high serum angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4) level exerts deleterious effects on lipid metabolism, but the role of ANGPTL4 in SUA-associated dyslipidemia has not been well studied, so far.

Methods: A total of 80 subjects were classified into high SUA group (n = 40) and low SUA group (n = 40) by the median value of SUA in the whole study population. Serum ANGPTL4 levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.

Results: In our study, we observed that not only serum triglyceride level [1.03 (0.78, 1.50) mmol/L vs. 1.59 (1.18, 2.37) mmol/L, p = 0.001] but also serum triglyceride-rich lipoprotein cholesterol (TRL-C) level [0.38 (0.32, 0.45) mmol/L vs. 0.46 (0.34, 0.54) mmol/L, p = 0.012] were significantly elevated in high SUA group. Additionally, serum ANGPTL4 in high SUA group was higher than in low SUA group [15.81 (11.88, 20.82) ng/ml vs. 22.13 (17.88, 32.09) ng/ml, p = 0.000]. Moreover, in all subjects, TRL-C levels were positively associated with SUA (r = 0.26, p = 0.023, n = 80) and ANGPTL4 levels (r = 0.24, p = 0.036, n = 80). Using stepwise multiple regression analysis to adjust for potential confounders, SUA was discovered to be an independent contributor to serum ANGPTL4 (p = 0.023). At the same time, serum ANGPTL4 was an independent contributor to the level of TRL-C (p = 0.000). However, the correlation between SUA and TRL-C disappeared after controlling for ANGPTL4 level.

Conclusion: Serum uric acid was positively correlated to TRL-C. ANGPTL4 may be an interplay between SUA and associated elevation of TRL-C.

Keywords: ATH – atherosclerosis; angiopoietin-like protein 4; serum uric acid; triglyceride rich lipoproteins; triglycerides.