Impact of serum hepcidin and inflammatory markers on resistance to erythropoiesis-stimulating therapy in haemodialysis patients.

PURPOSE: Anaemia and resistance to erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) are common complications in haemodialysis (HD) patients. We investigated the role of hepcidin in the development of anaemia and ESA resistance/hyporesponsiveness and its relation to the plasma levels of the inflammatory markers interleukin 6 (IL-6) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP).

METHODS: This study included 60 maintenance HD patients attending Ain Shams University Hospital and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects as a control group. Serum hepcidin, IL-6, hsCRP and haemoglobin (Hb) levels were measured in all subjects. The erythropoietin resistance index (ERI) was calculated in the patient group only.

RESULTS: There was a significant difference between the patients and controls; the patients had higher hepcidin, IL-6, and hsCRP levels and a lower Hb level. Patients were classified according to their response to ESAs into responder and non-responder groups. Those in the non-responder group had higher hepcidin, IL-6, and hsCRP levels, a higher ERI, and a lower Hb level. Hepcidin showed a positive correlation with IL-6 and hsCRP but a negative correlation with Hb. Upon performing a ROC curve analysis, a cut-off of ≥ 280 ng/ml for hepcidin and ≥ 7.5 for ERI was able to discriminate the responder and non-responder groups with a prognostic accuracy of 83% and 77.3%, respectively. In addition, upon classifying the patients into tertiles according to the ERI, hepcidin significantly increased with increasing ERI.

CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate an association between the hepcidin level, anaemia and ESA resistance/hyporesponsiveness in HD patients, suggesting its possible role as a candidate marker for ESA resistance.