Abstract: Objective  To investigate the correlation between serum levels of serum Nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) and bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) and the left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).  Methods  A total of 102 patients with CKD were collected and categorized into CKD stage 3 group (n=31), stage 4 group (n=27) and stage 5 group (n=44). According to the presence of LVH, patients were further divided into LVH group (n=40) and non-LVH group (n=62). Serum NLRP3 and BMP2 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). LVH was detected by color Doppler ultrasound. The correlation between serum NLRP3 and BMP2 levels and LVH was analyzed. Results   As CKD progressed, serum BMP2 and NLRP3 levels showed an upward trend (H=69.424, 49.945; both P＜0.001). Correlation analysis showed that serum NLRP3 level was positively correlated with BMP2 and left ventricular mass index in CKD patients (rs=0.661, 0.495; both P＜0.001). Compared with the non-LVH group, the LVH group exhibited significantly higher serum BMP2 and NLRP3 levels (Z=-3.555, -5.737; both  P＜0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed that elevated serum BMP2 (OR=1.039, 95% CI:1.013～1.066, P=0.003) and NLRP3 (OR=1.007, 95% CI:1.004～1.010, P＜0.001) levels were risk factors for LVH in CKD patients , with NLRP3 being an independent risk factor (OR=1.006, 95% CI:1.003～1.010, P=0.001). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis demonstrated that NLRP3 predicted LVH in stage 3～5 CKD patients with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.838, sensitivity of 77.42%, specificity of 82.50%, and an optimal cutoff value of 881.80 ng/L. Conclusions  Elevated serum BMP2 level is an important risk factor for LVH in CKD patients, while elevated NLRP3 level serves as an independent risk factor.

Key words: Chronic kidney disease, Left ventricular hypertrophy, NOD-like receptor protein 3, Bone morphogenetic protein 2