Sina Köppert, Ing.-M.Sc.

Inflammatory potential and clearance of CPPs and LCPs

The liver-derived plasma protein Fetuin-A is a systemic inhibitor of calcification. Fetuin-A stabilizes colloidal protein-mineral complexes, named calciprotein particles (CPPs), and mediates their clearance from circulation to prevent local deposition and consequent inflammation and calcification. CKD patients show increased CPP-bound Fetuin-A, associated with cardiovascular mortality. CPPs and lipidic calcified debris (LCPs), may cause inflammation and calcification in CKD, if clearance from the circulation is declined. To confirm this hypothesis, we study the propensity of particles to induce inflammation in macrophage cell lines and primary macrophages lacking different receptors involved in particle clearance, e.g. SR-A and MARCO. Besides in vitro analyses, different clearance and uremia models are used to investigate the inflammatory potential and clearance of CPPs and LCPs in the context of CKD.

Publications in PubMed