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Updated: Mar 31, 2026
Isolation of Endothelial Progenitor Cells from Human Umbilical Cord Blood
Published on: September 14, 2017
[Circulating endothelial progenitor cell levels in treated hypertensive patients]
C Maroun-Eid1, A Ortega-Hernández2, M Abad1
1Unidad de Hipertensión, Hospital Clínico San Carlos-Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos (IdISSC), Madrid, España.
Insights
Treated hypertensive patients have lower levels of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), despite controlled blood pressure. This reduction in EPCs may contribute to their persistent cardiovascular risk, highlighting a potential therapeutic target.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Endothelial Biology
- Hypertension Research
Background:
- Optimally treated hypertensive patients retain a significant cardiovascular event risk, suggesting unknown factors.
- Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are crucial for endothelial integrity and function, implicating them in cardiovascular disease.
- This study investigates circulating EPCs and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in treated hypertensive patients with controlled blood pressure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in treated hypertensive patients.
- To compare EPC and VEGF levels in hypertensive patients with controlled blood pressure against a healthy control group.
- To explore the potential role of reduced EPCs in the residual cardiovascular risk of hypertensive patients.
Main Methods:
- Blood samples were collected from 108 treated hypertensive patients with controlled blood pressure and a healthy control group.
- Plasma levels of EPCs (CD34+/KDR+ and CD34+/VE-cadherin+) were quantified using flow cytometry.
- Plasma VEGF concentration was measured via ELISA.
Main Results:
- Hypertensive patients, despite controlled blood pressure, exhibited significantly lower circulating levels of CD34+/KDR+ and CD34+/VE-cadherin+ EPCs compared to controls.
- Plasma VEGF concentrations were found to be higher in hypertensive patients than in the control group.
- A significant proportion of hypertensive patients were obese (45%), but cardiovascular parameters were otherwise within normal ranges.
Conclusions:
- Treated hypertensive patients demonstrate a reduced number of circulating EPCs, even with optimal blood pressure management.
- This decrease in EPCs may partially explain the heightened residual cardiovascular risk observed in these patients.
- EPCs represent a potential therapeutic target for mitigating cardiovascular risk in hypertension.
Introduction:
Most optimally treated hypertensive patients still have an around 50% increased risk of any cardiovascular event, suggesting the possible existence of unidentified risk factors. In the last years there has been evidence of the essential role of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in the maintenance of endothelial integrity and function, increasing the interest in their involvement in cardiovascular disease. In this study, the circulating levels of EPCs and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are investigated in treated hypertensive patients with adequate control of blood pressure (BP).
Material And Methods:
Blood samples were collected from treated hypertensive patients with controlled BP. Plasma levels of EPCs CD34+/KDR+ and CD34+/VE-cadherin+ were quantified by flow cytometry. Plasma concentration of VEGF was determined by ELISA. A group of healthy subjects without cardiovascular risk factors was included as controls.
Results:
A total of 108 hypertensive patients were included (61±12 years, 47.2% men) of which 82.4% showed BP<140/90 mmHg, 91.7% and 81.5% controlled diabetes (HbA1c <7%) and cLDL (<130 or 100 mg/dL), respectively, and 85.2% were non-smokers. Around 45% of them were obese. Although patients had cardiovascular parameters within normal ranges, they showed significantly lower levels of CD34+/KDR+ and CD34+/VE-cadherin+ compared with healthy control group, although plasma VEGF concentration was higher in patients than in controls.
Conclusions:
Despite an optimal treatment, hypertensive patients show a decreased number of circulating EPCs that could be, at least in part, responsible for their residual cardiovascular risk, suggesting that these cells could be a therapeutic target.
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