%0 Journal Article
%T Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A and VEGF-A165b are associated with time to remission of granulomatosis with polyangiitis in a nationwide Japanese prospective cohort study.
%A Kikuchi R
%A Tsuboi N
%A Sada KE
%A Nakatochi M
%A Yokoe Y
%A Suzuki A
%A Maruyama S
%A Murohara T
%A Matsushita T
%A  
%A Amano K
%A Atsumi T
%A Takasaki Y
%A Ito S
%A Hasegawa H
%A Dobashi H
%A Ito T
%A Makino H
%A Matsuo S
%J Ann Clin Biochem
%V 58
%N 2
%D 03 2021
%M 33081494
%F 2.587
%R 10.1177/0004563220968371
%X 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-A165b (an antiangiogenic isoform of VEGF-A) concentrations with time to remission of AAV in a nationwide Japanese prospective follow-up cohort.<BR>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-A165b 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).<BR>Results revealed significant reductions in sVEGF-A and sVEGF-A165b concentrations in patients with microscopic polyangiitis and EGPA, respectively. However, despite the comparable concentrations of sVEGF-A and sVEGF-A165b during the 6 months of treatment in granulomatosis with polyangiitis patients, correlation analysis revealed that the differences in log2-transformed concentrations of sVEGF-A and sVEGF-A165b were inversely correlated with time to remission in granulomatosis with polyangiitis patients.<BR>These results suggest that sVEGF-A and -A165b can serve as potential markers of time to remission in patients with granulomatosis with polyangiitis.