Plasma preptin levels are decreased in patients with essential hypertension

The pancreatic hormone preptin amplifies glucose-mediated insulin secretion, and we investigated its circulating levels in patients with essential hypertension and possible association with carotid atherosclerosis. Ninety-eight patients were divided into hypertensive and control groups. Relationships between plasma preptin levels, clinical parameters, and carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) were analyzed. Plasma preptin levels were significantly lower in the hypertensive group than in the control group (1930.30±268.47 vs. 2182.88±325.81 pg/mL, P < 0.01). Simple linear regression analysis showed that systolic blood pressure (SBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and levels of serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and cholesterol (CHOL) were related to plasma preptin levels. Furthermore, multivariate linear regression analysis showed that SBP and serum CHOL levels were independent of plasma preptin levels, which were inversely correlated with carotid artery IMT (r = -0.47, P < 0.01) in all subjects. Plasma preptin levels of patients with carotid atherosclerotic plaques were significantly lower than those of patients without plaques (1961.69±296.07 vs. 2117.97±322.52 pg/mL, P < 0.05). This preliminary study revealed that plasma preptin levels are decreased in patients with essential hypertension, negatively correlated with carotid artery IMT, and significantly lower in patients with carotid atherosclerotic plaques. Therefore, decreased plasma preptin level might play a role in hypertension and its vascular complications.