Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A and VEGF-A 165 b are associated with time to remission of granulomatosis with polyangiitis in a nationwide Japanese prospective cohort study

• Published in: Annals of clinical biochemistry 2021-03, Vol.58 (2), p.86-94
• Main Authors: Kikuchi, Ryosuke, Tsuboi, Naotake, Sada, Ken-Ei, Nakatochi, Masahiro, Yokoe, Yuki, Suzuki, Atsuo, Maruyama, Shoichi, Murohara, Toyoaki, Matsushita, Tadashi, Amano, Koichi, Atsumi, Tatsuya, Takasaki, Yoshinari, Ito, Satoshi, Hasegawa, Hitoshi, Dobashi, Hiroaki, Ito, Takafumi, Makino, Hirofumi, Matsuo, Seiichi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0004-5632; 1758-1001
• DOI: 10.1177/0004563220968371

Effective prognostic markers are needed for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV). This study evaluated the clinical associations of serum vascular endothelial growth factor-A (sVEGF-A) and sVEGF-A b (an antiangiogenic isoform of VEGF-A) concentrations with time to remission of AAV in a nationwide Japanese prospective follow-up cohort. We collected samples from patients with AAV who were enrolled in the nationwide Japanese cohort study (RemIT-JAV-RPGN). We measured sVEGF-A and sVEGF-A b concentrations using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays in 57 serum samples collected 6 months before and after initiation of AAV treatment. Patients were classified based on AAV disease subtypes: microscopic polyangiitis, granulomatosis with polyangiitis and eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA). Results revealed significant reductions in sVEGF-A and sVEGF-A b concentrations in patients with microscopic polyangiitis and EGPA, respectively. However, despite the comparable concentrations of sVEGF-A and sVEGF-A b during the 6 months of treatment in granulomatosis with polyangiitis patients, correlation analysis revealed that the differences in log -transformed concentrations of sVEGF-A and sVEGF-A b were inversely correlated with time to remission in granulomatosis with polyangiitis patients. These results suggest that sVEGF-A and -A b can serve as potential markers of time to remission in patients with granulomatosis with polyangiitis.