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Background: Secreted frizzled-related protein 2 (sFRP2) is involved in various cardiovascular diseases. However, its relevance in left ventricular (LV) remodeling in patients with hypertension (HTN) is obscure. Methods: In this study, 196 patients with HTN were included, 59 with echocardiographic LV remodeling. A total of 100 healthy subjects served as normal controls. The serum-sFRP2 level was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Data were collected from medical records for baseline characteristics, biochemistry tests, and echocardiography. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to assess the distinguishing value of sFRP2 for LV remodeling in patients with HTN. Spearman rank correlation analysis was utilized to identify factors correlated with sFRP2. Cardiac sFRP2 was determined by Western blot and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Results: The level of serum-sFRP2 was higher in HTN patients with echocardiographic LV remodeling than their non-remodeling counterparts. ROC analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) for sFRP2 in distinguishing echocardiographic LV remodeling in HTN patients was 0.791 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.714–0.869). The sFRP2 was negatively correlated with LV dimension and positively correlated with relative wall thickness (RWT). The expression of sFRP2 was higher in hypertrophic hearts, which could be reversed by myricetin. Conclusions: The serum level and cardiac sFRP2 increased in the setting of LV remodeling and decreased by myricetin. Serum sFRP2 may be a promising distinguishing factor for LV remodeling in HTN patients.

Cardiovascular disease is an essential comorbidity in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and represents an independent risk factor for increased mortality. Therefore, careful monitoring of cardiovascular disease is crucial in the healthcare of NSCLC patients. Inflammatory factors have previously been associated with myocardial damage in NSCLC patients, but it remains unclear whether serum inflammatory factors can be utilized to assess the cardiovascular health status in NSCLC patients. A total of 118 NSCLC patients were enrolled in this cross-sectional study, and their baseline data were collected through a hospital electronic medical record system. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure the serum levels of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), interleukin (IL)-18, IL-1β, transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF). Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS software. Multivariate and ordinal logistic regression models were constructed. The data revealed an increased serum level of LIF in the group using tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)-targeted drugs compared to non-users (p < 0.001). Furthermore, serum TGF-β1 (area under the curve, AUC: 0.616) and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) (AUC: 0.720) levels were clinically evaluated and found to be correlated with pre-clinical cardiovascular injury in NSCLC patients. Notably, the serum levels of cTnT and TGF-β1 were found to indicate the extent of pre-clinical cardiovascular injury in NSCLC patients. In conclusion, the results suggest that serum LIF, as well as TGFβ1 together with cTnT, are potential serum biomarkers for the assessment of cardiovascular status in NSCLC patients. These findings offer novel insights into the assessment of cardiovascular health and underscore the importance of monitoring cardiovascular health in the management of NSCLC patients.

Background: Secreted frizzled-related protein 2 (sFRP2) plays an important role in metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs); However, its relevance with cardiometabolic diseases remains to be elucidated. We aimed to determine the serum levels of sFRP2 in patients at different stages of heart failure (HF) with or without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and assess the correlation between circulating sFRP2 levels and cardiometabolic risk factors.Methods: In this study, serum samples from 277 patients visiting Zhongshan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University were collected. These patients were clinically diagnosed and categorized as five groups, including the control group, pre-clinical HF group, pre-clinical HF+T2DM group, HF group and HF+T2DM group. Serum sFRP2 levels were measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests and the clinical characteristics of each patient were recorded. Spearman rank correlation analysis and multiple stepwise linear regression analysis were conducted. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to screen risk factors for HF in patients with CVDs.Results: Serum sFRP2 levels were significantly lower in the HF+T2DM group compared with the other four groups. Spearman rank correlation analysis showed that sFRP2 was negatively correlated with parameters including patients' age, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), cardiac troponin T (cTNT), N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), left atrial dimension (LAD) and left ventricular posterior wall (LVPW), and positively correlated with hemoglobin, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), albumin, total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). However, in multiple regression analysis, significant associations with ln(sFRP2) were observed only in FPG, hs-CRP and LAD. Higher serum sFRP2 was significantly linked to lower odds of HF in patients with CVDs.Conclusion: sFRP2 progressively decreased when glucose homeostasis and cardiac function deteriorated. sFRP2 acted as a risk factor for HF in patients with CVDs, especially in those with concomitant T2DM.