Advanced glycation end product receptor (RAGE) interaction plays an important role in
atherosclerosis. Although exogenously administered soluble form of RAGE (sRAGE) has been shown to suppress the development and progression of
atherosclerosis in animals, the kinetics and role of endogenous sRAGE in humans are not fully understood. In this study, to clarify whether endogenous sRAGE could capture and efficiently eliminate RAGE
ligands such as circulating AGEs and high-mobility group box-1 (HMGB-1), we investigated the correlation between sRAGE and RAGE
ligands and examined independent determinants of serum levels of sRAGE in hypertensive humans. Two-hundred seventy-one consecutive nondiabetic outpatients with
essential hypertension (83 male and 188 female; mean age, 76.5 +/- 9.2 years) underwent a complete history, physical examination, and determination of blood chemistries, including serum levels of sRAGE, AGEs, and HMGB-1. Univariate regression analysis showed that serum levels of sRAGE were associated with body mass index (r = -0.313, P < .0001), waist (r = -0.214, P < .0001),
alanine aminotransferase (r = -0.172, P = .005), gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (r = -0.213, P < .0001), 24-hour
creatinine clearance (r = -0.348, P < .0001),
B-type natriuretic peptide (r = 0.138, P = .027),
tumor necrosis factor-alpha (r = 0.138, P = .002), and alcohol intake (r = -0.155, P = .010). By the use of multiple stepwise regression analyses, 24-hour
creatinine clearance (P < .0001), gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (P < .001), body mass index (P = .007), and
tumor necrosis factor-alpha (P = .024) remained significant independently. The present study demonstrated for the first time that there was no significant correlation between serum levels of sRAGE and RAGE
ligands such as circulating AGEs and HMGB-1 in hypertensive patients. Anthropometric and inflammatory variables and liver and renal function may be the determinants of endogenous sRAGE levels in nondiabetic hypertensive patients.