Von Willebrand factor, ADAMTS13 activity, TNF-α and their relationships in patients with chronic kidney disease

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) often exhibit associated endothelial dysfunction and inflammation. Systemic inflammation may contribute to the endothelial dysfunction and accelerated thrombosis observed in CKD patients. In this study, we assessed the relationships among endothelial dysfunction, a disintegrin-like and metalloprotease with thrombospondin type 1 repeats 13 (ADAMTS13) activity and levels of inflammatory cytokines in CKD patients. CKD patients were classified into three groups: The chronic glomerulonephritis group (CGN; n=31), the idiopathic nephritic syndrome group (NS; n=32) and the lupus nephritis group (LN; n=41). We measured the plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), von Willebrand factor (VWF) antigen (VWF:Ag) and ADAMTS13 activity using an ELISA-based method in CKD patients (n=104) and normal controls (n=32). The ratio of the VWF:Ag levels to ADAMTS13 activity was calculated. The VWF:Ag levels were significantly higher and the ADAMTS13 activities were significantly lower in the disease groups compared to the controls (P<0.01). ADAMTS13 activity was lower in the NS group compared to the CGN and LN groups (P<0.05). The TNF-α levels were higher in the CKD group compared to the control group (P<0.01). TNF-α was positively correlated with the VWF:Ag levels (r=0.242, P=0.013) and negatively correlated with the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) (r=-0.193, P=0.049). ADAMTS13 activity was negatively correlated with the cholesterol levels in CKD patients (r=-0.2, P= 0.042). TNF-α levels in CKD were positively correlated with the VWF:Ag levels and negatively correlated with GFR, which indicates that inflammation may be a major cause of endothelial dysfunction and an index of renal function. The VWF:Ag levels increased and ADAMTS13 activity decreased in CKD patients, which indicates that CKD leads to a prothrombotic state.