Abstract P461: The Association of NOV/CCN3 With Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Severe Morbid Obesity: Preliminary Evidence of a Novel Biomarker in OSA

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is strongly associated with cardiovascular and metabolic abnormalities, although the mechanism driving this association is not well understood. NOV/CCN3, a multifunctional extracellular matrix protein, may play a mechanistic and/or prognostic role in these associations. We hypothesized that patients with OSA will have increased levels of NOV, and that NOV can serve as a biomarker in patients to predict OSA as well as metabolic and cardiac risk. Materials and Methods: 10 morbidly obese subjects presenting to the sleep laboratory for clinical evaluation of possible OSA and 10 healthy lean controls underwent overnight polysomnography and clinical evaluation. Blood samples were analyzed for NOV levels, adiponectin, and IL-6. Results: OSA was found in 9 obese subjects and 3 lean subjects. NOV levels were significantly higher in the obese vs lean group (2.2±0.3 vs 1.4±0.2 fold change, p Conclusions: NOV levels and AHI, a measure of OSA severity, were higher in obese subjects vs lean controls and were correlated with each other. NOV may be a marker of OSA severity and a biomarker for cardiovascular and metabolic disease in OSA patients.