Association between Tumor Prognosis Marker Visfatin and Proinflammatory Cytokines in Hypertensive Patients

Abstract

Visfatin has been reported as a risk factor and a potential diagnostic marker in cancer. It is an adipokine, secreted by visceral fat and associated with the pathogenesis of arterial hypertension. We investigated the circulatory levels of visfatin in hypertensive patients with hypertriglyceridemia, which are the risk factors for various cancers and its association with proinflammatory cytokines. A total of 81 (male/female: 33/48) subjects with or without hypertension were enrolled for this study. Group 1 was normotensive, Group 2 hypertensive, and Group 3 with hypertension with hypertriglyceridemia. Data on anthropometric and biochemical data were recorded. Plasma visfatin levels were measured using an ELISA kit. The plasma inflammatory cytokines were estimated using a multiplex bead-based assay. The results revealed that the hypertension with hypertriglyceridemia group has the highest levels of visfatin compared to the hypertension and control groups with a significant difference ( $p<0.001$ ). Besides, circulatory visfatin showed the strongest possible correlation with proinflammatory cytokines among hypertensive patients with hypertriglyceridemia. We found a positive correlation between visfatin and diastolic blood pressure as well as high-density lipoproteins. In conclusion, the outcomes of the present study demonstrate that plasma visfatin levels were found to be elevated in hypertensive patients with hypertriglyceridemia and associated with proinflammatory cytokines. Since hypertension has been documented as the most common comorbidity observed in cancer patients, visfatin may be a novel potential therapeutic target for hypertension in cancer patients and survivors.