[Structural and functional reconfiguration of large arteries in hypertensive disease: a role of connective tissue metabolic disturbances].

The study was undertaken to define a role of connective tissue metabolism (CTM) in the structural and functional changes of arterial vessels in patients with hypertensive disease (HD). Eighty-nine patients with HD and 33 apparently healthy individuals were examined. The morphometrical parameters of the aorta were studied by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), external and internal diameters (ED and ID, respectively) and the thickness of the wall (Hao) at the level of the ascending aorta and its mass (Mao) were determined. To evaluate aortic function, the authors made Doppler studies and determined aortic pulse wave velocity (APWV) and the aortic rigidity coefficient (RC). CTM was evaluated by the serum content of free oxyproline (FOP) and peptide-bound oxyproline (PBOP), type I procollagen C propeptides (PCPP), circulating antibodies (Cab) to elastin, and by the urinary levels of total glycosaminoglycans (TGAG) and sulfated glycosaminoglycans (SGAG). The patients with HD were found to have significantly higher levels of ID, ED, Hao Mao, APWV, RC, which is indicative of dilatation of the aorta and the increased thickness and rigidity of its wall. Patients with HD showed statistically significant serum elevated levels of PBOP and type I PCPP, a decrease in CAb to elastin, and increased urinary content of TGAG and SGAG, which indicates the activated synthesis of collagen and structural proteoglycans and the degradation of elastin in HD. The results of a multiple regression analysis demonstrated a role of CTM changes as a significant and independent factor that determines structural and functional impairments of large arteries in patients with HD.