These findings were corroborated by Graciolli et al. (2009) who evidenced that phosphate is a critical factor for vascular calcification, revealing that hyperphosphatemia, even without an initial association with CVD, is correlated with upregulation of runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) gene in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Here, RUNX2 is linked to hyperphosphatemia.