Plasma catestatin levels are related to metabolic parameters in patients with essential hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus

Catestatin (CST) is a pleiotropic peptide with cardioprotective and metabolic effects. CST is involved in the pathogenesis of both arterial hypertension (AH) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), which are the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we aimed to investigate the plasma CST levels in hypertensive patients, especially with T2DM, as well as compare those with healthy volunteers, and explore the relationship between CST levels and clinical, anthropometric and laboratory parameters. 106 Hypertensive patients, 55 of which had comorbidity T2DM, and 30 healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study. All subjects underwent clinical examination, including vital signs and anthropometric data assessment, medical history interview, and blood sample collection. Plasma CST levels were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), using a commercial diagnostic kit. The plasma CST levels were significantly lower in hypertensive patients (N = 106) compared with healthy subjects (N= 30) (5.02 +/- 1.09 vs. 6.64 +/- 0.72; p < 0.001). Furthermore, hypertensive patients with T2DM (N = 55) have significantly reduced CST levels in comparison with those without T2DM (N= 51) (4.47 +/- 1.16 vs. 5.61 +/- 0.61; p < 0.001). CST significantly correlated with anthropometric characteristics, in particular, weight (r = - 0.344; p < 0.001), BMI (r = - 0.42; p < 0.001), neck (r = - 0.358; p < 0.001), waist (r = - 0.487; p < 0.001), hip (r = - 0.312; p < 0.001), wrist circumferences (r = - 0.264; p = 0.002), and waist-to-hip ratio (r = - 0.395; p < 0.001). Due to its antihypertensive effect, CST has significant associations with systolic BP (r = - 0.475; p < 0.001) and duration of AH (r = - 0.26; p = 0.007). CST also has an inverse relationship with insulin (r = - 0.382; p < 0.001), glucose (r = - 0.45; p < 0.001), index HOMA-IR (r = - 0.481; p < 0.001) and HbA1c (r = - 0.525; p < 0.001), that indicate its involvement in T2DM development. Besides, CST has significant correlations with uric acid levels (r = - 0.412; p < 0.001) as well as lipid parameters, especially HDL-C (r = 0.480; p < 0.001), VLDL-C (r = - 0.238; p = 0.005), TG (r = - 0.4; p < 0.001), non-HDL-C/HDL-C (r = - 0.499; p < 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis indicated BMI (beta = - 0.22; p = 0.007), AH duration (beta = - 0.25; p = 0.008), HbA1c (beta = - 0.43; p = 0.019) and HDL-C levels (beta = 0.27; p = 0.001) as independent predictors of CST levels. The hypertensive patients have significantly decreased CST levels that are even more reduced in the presence of comorbid T2DM. The established correlations with anthropometric and laboratory parameters indicate not only antihypertensive but also metabolic effects of CST. Our results suggest the probable role of CST in the pathophysiology of cardiometabolic diseases and the development of cardiovascular complications.