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Circulating Endothelial Progenitor Cells: Potential Biomarkers for Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Santiago Roura1, Carolina Gálvez-Montón2, Marco A Fernández3

  • 1ICREC Research Program, Germans Trias i Pujol Health Science Research Institute, Ctra. de Can Ruti, Camí de les Escoles s/n, 08916, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain. sroura@igtp.cat.

Journal of Cardiovascular Translational Research
|January 8, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) show potential as biomarkers for dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Further research is needed to confirm their clinical utility, independent of other influencing factors.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Vascular Biology
  • Biomarker Discovery

Background:

  • Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a leading cause of heart transplant and a significant global healthcare cost.
  • The etiology of DCM is often unknown (idiopathic DCM), despite suspected genetic and environmental factors.
  • Endothelial cell changes correlate with DCM progression and patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the potential of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) as minimally invasive biomarkers for DCM.
  • To identify diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for DCM.
  • To assess the clinical utility of EPCs in DCM management.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current literature on EPCs and their role in DCM.
  • Discussion of the potential and limitations of EPCs as serological biomarkers.
  • Emphasis on the need for independent evaluation of EPC levels, controlling for confounding factors.

Main Results:

  • EPCs represent a promising, minimally invasive biomarker candidate for DCM.
  • Current data suggests a link between EPC levels and DCM, but requires further validation.
  • Confounding factors like age, gender, lifestyle, and treatments can significantly affect EPC levels.

Conclusions:

  • Circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) hold potential as valuable biomarkers for dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).
  • Standardized, large-scale multicenter studies are essential to confirm the clinical utility of EPCs.
  • Future research must account for variables influencing EPC levels to establish reliable diagnostic and prognostic tools for DCM.

Keywords:
BiomarkerDiagnosisDilated cardiomyopathyEndothelial progenitor cellFlow cytometryHeart failure

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