{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,13]],"date-time":"2026-03-13T08:57:55Z","timestamp":1773392275552,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,24]],"date-time":"2021-10-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1635033600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and Objectives: recent studies suggest an implication of immune mechanisms in atherosclerotic disease. In this paper, the interaction between inflammation, calcification, and atherosclerosis on the vessel walls of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is described and evaluated. Materials and Methods: patients with stage V CKD, either on pre-dialysis (group A) or on hemodialysis (HD) for at least 2 years (group B), in whom a radiocephalic arteriovenous fistula (RCAVF) was created, were included in the study. The control group included healthy volunteers who received radial artery surgery after an accident. The expressions of inflammatory cells, myofibroblasts, and vascular calcification regulators on the vascular wall were estimated, and, moreover, morphometric analysis was performed. Results: the expressions of CD68(+) cells, matrix carboxyglutamic acid proteins (MGPs), the receptor activator of nuclear factor-kB (RANK) and RANK ligand (RANKL), and osteoprotegerin (OPG), were significantly increased in CKD patients compared to the controls p = 0.02; p = 0.006; p = 0.01; and p = 0.006, respectively. In morphometric analysis, the I\/M and L\/I ratios had significant differences between CKD patients and the controls 0.3534 \u00b1 0.20 vs. 0.1520 \u00b1 0.865, p = 0.003, and 2.1709 \u00b1 1.568 vs. 4.9958 \u00b1 3.2975, p = 0.03, respectively. The independent variables correlated with the degree of vascular calcification were the intensity of CD34(+), aSMA(+) cells, and OPG, R2 = 0.76, p &lt; 0.0001, and, with intima-media thickness (IMT), the severity of RANKL expression R2 = 0.3, p &lt; 0.0001. Conclusion: atherosclerosis and vascular calcification in CKD seem to be strongly regulated by an immunological and inflammatory activation on the vascular wall.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina57111156","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,24]],"date-time":"2021-10-24T22:07:11Z","timestamp":1635113231000},"page":"1156","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Histology and Immunohistochemistry of Radial Arteries Are Suggestive of an Interaction between Calcification and Early Atherosclerotic Lesions in Chronic Kidney Disease"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"57","author":[{"given":"Aikaterini","family":"Lysitska","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nephrology, Papageorgiou General Hospital, 56429 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nikiforos","family":"Galanis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orhtopediscs, Papanikolaou General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 57010 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ioannis","family":"Skandalos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, Agios Pavlos General Hospital, 55134 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Christina","family":"Nikolaidou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology, Hippokration General Hospital, 54642 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sophia","family":"Briza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departure of Architecture, School of Engineering, University of Thessaly, 38334 Thessaly, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Asimina","family":"Fylaktou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Immunology, National Peripheral Histocompatibility Center, Hippokration Hospital, 54642 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"George","family":"Lioulios","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nephrology, Hippokration General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54642 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Zoi","family":"Mitsoglou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nephrology, Hippokration General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54642 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dorothea","family":"Papadopoulou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nephrology, Papageorgiou General Hospital, 56429 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nikolaos","family":"Antoniadis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery, Hippokration General Hospital, 54642 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Aikaterini","family":"Papagianni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nephrology, Hippokration General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54642 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2496-9863","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria","family":"Stangou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nephrology, Hippokration General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54642 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"365","DOI":"10.1136\/heartjnl-2012-302818","article-title":"Arterial disease in chronic kidney disease","volume":"99","author":"Moody","year":"2012","journal-title":"Heart"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"335","DOI":"10.1007\/s00109-021-02037-7","article-title":"Vascular pathologies in chronic kidney disease: Pathophysiological mechanisms and novel therapeutic approaches","volume":"99","author":"Zietzer","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. 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