Oligogalacturonic Acid Inhibits Vascular Calcification by Two Mechanisms

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