Ciceri P, et al. - As uremic patients experience premature vascular ageing that causes cardiovascular morbidity, researchers investigated the relationship between uremic serum calcific potential induced by high phosphate (Pi) and vascular calcification score (VCS). For this study, they cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) with 3.5 mM Na₃PO₄ (Pi) with 10% uremic serum and evaluated calcium deposition, markers of osteoblastic transformation, and apoptosis. Culture with uremic serum and high-Pi significantly induced calcification. Observations suggest a significant correlation of VCS of end-stage renal disease patients with serum-calcific potential induced by high Pi. In addition, sera with a higher potential to induce VSMC osteoblastic trans-differentiation, apoptosis, and necrosis was observed among uremic patients with higher VCS.