Vascular calcification and cardiovascular outcome in dialysis patients : the role of gene polymorphisms

Vascular calcification and accelerated atherosclerosis are major causes of death in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Epigenetic mechanisms of gene regulation may be crucial determinants of cellular behavior in uremic conditions, determining an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The common polymorphisms on different gene promoters have been related to increased coronary artery calcification and associated with cardiovascular outcome in HD population. In this review, we reported the gene polymorphisms of different proteins as negative prognostic risk factors for all-cause mortality in HD patients, independent of traditional risk factors. These data may have important implications for better understanding the pathogenesis of the increased mortality in this population. Copyright (C) 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel