Soluble LOX-1 (sLOX-1), a fragment of the main LOX-1 molecule, is being investigated as a diagnostic marker because it has been shown to be present in increased quantities in patients with hypertension, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and coronary artery disease.
The role of genetic polymorphisms in the LOX1 gene, however, remains unclear in the development of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) for patients with hypertension.
However, LOX-1 expression was elevated in the aorta but not the kidneys of spontaneously hypertensive rats, which exhibited hypertension but minor glomerulosclerotic changes.
Quite unexpectedly, the expression was dramatically up-regulated in the aorta in hypertensive SHR-SP/Izm rats compared with very low levels in control WKY/Izm rats, suggesting a potential role for LOX-1 in the pathogenesis of hypertension as well as atherosclerosis.