Glucose tolerance is negatively associated with circulating progenitor cell levels

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular biology
• Metabolic health
• Stem cell research

Background:

• Circulating progenitor cells are vital for cardiovascular homeostasis.
• Endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) depletion is linked to elevated cardiovascular risk.
• EPC levels decrease with traditional risk factors like diabetes mellitus.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate progenitor cell levels in individuals with varying glucose tolerance.
• To assess the relationship between glucose metabolism and circulating progenitor cells.

Main Methods:

• Evaluated cardiovascular parameters and CD34(+) and CD34(+)KDR(+) cell counts in 219 middle-aged individuals.
• Assessed glucose tolerance via fasting and 2-hour post-challenge glucose levels.
• Defined impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) as pre-diabetic states.

Main Results:

• CD34(+) and CD34(+)KDR(+) cells were significantly lower in individuals with diabetes mellitus.
• Progenitor cell levels showed a negative correlation with fasting and post-challenge glucose across the population.
• Pre-diabetic individuals had reduced CD34(+) cells, and post-challenge glucose independently affected both CD34(+) and CD34(+)KDR(+) cell levels.

Conclusions:

• Glucose tolerance is inversely associated with progenitor cell counts in healthy middle-aged adults.
• Reduced endothelial progenitor cells due to elevated glucose may contribute to cardiovascular damage in pre-diabetes.