The Interplay of Prolactin with Inflammatory Nutritional Markers and NT-proBNP in Chronic Kidney Disease

Abstract

In chronic kidney disease (CKD), various disorders occur that worsen with the progression of CKD. These include increased levels of hormones such as adiponectin, leptin, and prolactin, changes in feedback loops and metabolism, and decreased renal clearance, contributing to significant morbidity and mortality. We conducted a cross-sectional observational study on 157 randomly selected patients with various stages of chronic kidney disease, 29% of whom had diabetes. We recorded clinical and usual laboratory data. We determined muscle mass and adipose tissue mass using bioimpedance. In addition, we measured serum prolactin levels, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), Interleukin 6 (IL-6), and Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β). N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) was evaluated as a marker of cardiac function. We evaluated the relation between prolactin, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, and NT-proBNP by bivariate and multivariate analysis. In bivariate analysis, we recorded associations of prolactin with inflammatory markers: TNF-α (r = 0.65, p < 0.001), IL-6 (r = 0.66, p < 0.001), and IL-1β (r = 0.25, p = 0.002). In multivariate analysis we observed that serum prolactin values are associated with IL-1β [median (25th–75th percentile): [−0.001 (−0.001; −0.00003), p = 0.037], muscle mass [−0.03 (−0.04; −0.01), p = 0.003], and NT-proBNP [0.0001 (0.0001; 0.0001)] p < 0.001 In conclusion, in chronic kidney disease, prolactin is associated with inflammatory markers (IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6), and nutritional status. Additionally, prolactin has been linked to NT-ProBNP, a marker of cardiac function.