Gender and renal function influence plasma levels of copeptin in healthy individuals

Sanjay S Bhandari (1) , Ian Loke , Joan E Davies , Iain B Squire , Joachim Struck , Leong L Ng

1 Department of Cardiovascular Sciences [Leicester]

This study sought to identify confounding factors for the interpretation of copeptin levels in healthy individuals. The natriuretic peptides are recognised as diagnostic and prognostic tools in heart failure (HF). Interpretation of BNP and NTproBNP levels is multifaceted as their secretion is influenced by many variables. A newly identified glycopeptide called copeptin is comparable to the natriuretic peptides in diagnosis and prognosis of HF and as a prognostic biomarker after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Copeptin, derived from the C-terminal portion of the precursor to arginine vasopressin (AVP), is secreted stoichiometrically with vasopressin, hence can be used as a surrogate marker of the AVP system. 706 healthy volunteers were recruited from a local HF screening study. Participants with a history of cardiovascular disease and those with echocardiographic abnormalities were excluded from the study. Copeptin and NTproBNP levels were assayed using in-house immunoluminometric assays. Median copeptin levels were significantly higher in the male volunteers compared with the females (4.3 [0.4-44.3] vs. 3.2 [1.0-14.8] pmol/L; P<0.001). In males, copeptin was correlated with eGFR (rs=-0.186, P<0.001). In females, the correlation of copeptin with eGFR was weak (rs=-0.097, P=0.095). Deceleration time (DT) and left atrial size correlated with higher copeptin levels (rs=0.085; P=0.029, rs=0.206, and P<0.001 respectively). Only gender (P<0.001), eGFR (P<0.001), left atrial size (P=0.04) and DT (P=0.02) remained independently predictive of plasma copeptin. This study suggests that gender and renal function specific partition values should be used to interpret copeptin values in future studies of this biomarker in HF or ischaemic heart disease.

Mots clés: Medicine

Sanjay S Bhandari, Ian Loke, Joan E Davies, Iain B Squire, Joachim Struck, et al.. Gender and renal function influence plasma levels of copeptin in healthy individuals. Clinical Science, 2009, 116 (3), pp.257-263. ⟨10.1042/CS20080140⟩. ⟨hal-00479439⟩