Calcified tissue international
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Calcif. Tissue Int. · Jun 2013
Lanthanum prevents high phosphate-induced vascular calcification by preserving vascular smooth muscle lineage markers.
Vascular calcification (VC) represents a major cardiovascular risk factor in chronic kidney disease patients. High phosphate (Pi) levels are strongly associated with VC in this population. Therefore, Pi binders are commonly used to control high Pi levels. ⋯ Furthermore, we also found that only LaCl3 completely prevented the matrix GLA protein mRNA levels and osteonectin protein expression elevations induced by high Pi compared to GdCl3. Finally, LaCl3, in contrast to GdCl3, prevented the high Pi-induced downregulation of Axl, a membrane tyrosine kinase receptor involved in apoptosis. Thus, our results suggest that LaCl3 prevents VC by preserving VSMC lineage markers and by decreasing high Pi-induced osteoblastic differentiation.