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Coronary Progenitor Cells and Soluble Biomarkers in Cardiovascular Prognosis after Coronary Angioplasty
Published on: January 28, 2020
Endothelial progenitor cells correlate with endothelial function in patients with coronary artery disease
Nikos Werner1, Sven Wassmann, Patrick Ahlers
1Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik II, Universitätsklinikum Bonn, Bonn, Germany. nwerner@uni-bonn.de
Insights
Circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are crucial for cardiovascular health. A higher number of EPCs correlates with better endothelial function, offering new insights for cardiovascular risk assessment.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Regenerative Medicine
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are vital for repairing damaged blood vessels and are known predictors of cardiovascular events.
- Impaired EPC function and low EPC counts are associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
- The underlying mechanism may involve insufficient endothelial repair by EPCs, impacting overall cardiovascular health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and coronary endothelial function in patients with coronary heart disease.
- To determine if EPC number and function predict endothelial dysfunction, a key factor in cardiovascular outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Invasive assessment of endothelial function using quantitative coronary angiography during intracoronary acetylcholine infusion in 90 patients.
- Flow cytometry to quantify circulating EPCs (CD133+ or CD34+/KDR+) in peripheral blood.
- Ex vivo assessment of EPC function through endothelial colony-forming unit assays.
Main Results:
- Univariate analysis showed that both low EPC numbers and impaired EPC function correlated with severely impaired coronary endothelial function.
- Multivariate analysis identified the number of circulating EPCs as an independent predictor of severe endothelial dysfunction, even after accounting for traditional cardiovascular risk factors.
Conclusions:
- Circulating EPC number is a significant independent predictor of coronary endothelial dysfunction in patients with coronary heart disease.
- Endothelial function is closely linked to the number of circulating EPCs, providing novel mechanistic insights.
- This correlation offers potential new avenues for risk stratification and assessment in patients at cardiovascular risk.
Abstract:
Endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) predict morbidity and mortality in patients at cardiovascular risk.Patients with low EPC counts and impaired endothelial colony forming activity have a higher incidence for cardiovascular events compared to patients with high EPC counts and favorable colony forming activity. The pathophysiological basis for this finding may be an insufficient endothelial cell repair by EPC.We postulate that EPC influence coronary endothelial function which itself is relevant for the outcome of patients at cardiovascular risk. To test this hypothesis in humans, endothelial function was invasively assessed in 90 patients with coronary heart disease by quantitative coronary angiography during intracoronary acetylcholine infusion. Flow cytometry of mononuclear cells isolated from peripheral blood was performed to assess CD133(+) or CD34(+)/KDR(+) EPC. EPC function was assessed ex vivo by determination of endothelial colony forming units. Low EPC number as well as impaired endothelial colony forming activity correlated with severely impaired coronary endothelial function in univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis revealed that only the number of EPC predicts severe endothelial dysfunction independent of classical cardiovascular risk factors. Endothelial function closely correlates with the number of circulating EPC providing new mechanistic insights and options for risk assessment in patients with coronary heart disease.
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