Oligogalacturonic Acid Inhibits Vascular Calcification by Two Mechanisms

Objective—Cardiovascular diseases constitute the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Calcificationof the vessel wall is associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients having many diseases, including diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, and chronic kidney disease. Vascular calcificationis actively regulated by inductive and inhibitory mechanisms (including vascular smooth musclecell adaptation) and results from an active osteogenic process. During the calcificationprocess, extracellular vesicles(also known as matrix vesicles) released by vascular smooth musclecells interact with type I collagenand then act as nucleating foci for calcium crystallization. Our primary objective was to identify new, natural molecules that inhibit the vascular calcificationprocess. Approach and Results—We have found that oligogalacturonic acids (obtained by the acid hydrolysisof polygalacturonic acid) reduce in vitro inorganic phosphate–induced calcificationof vascular smooth musclecells by 80% a...