Circulating endothelial cells as potential markers of atherosclerosis.
OBJECTIVE
Vascular endothelial cell (VEC) injury represents a major initiating step in the process of atherosclerosis, which may lead to cerebral infarction. "Circulating endothelial cell" (CEC) is an index of ongoing endothelial injury, while intimal-medial thickness (IMT) detected by sounography was used to evaluate the severity of atherosclerosis. However, to our knowledge, there is no study that investigated the relationship of these two determinations. Our study was designed to address correlate CEC with IMT.


RESULTS
The study population consisted of 30 patients with acute cerebral infarction (ACI) and 30 age- and sex-matched volunteers as controls. The CEC counts were determined using Hladovec's method. All subjects underwent a 2-dimensional ultrasound examination of both carotid arteries to measure IMT. CEC counts in ACI group were significantly increased compared with control group (4.88+/-2.14 cells /0.91 microl vs 2.73+/-1.95/0.9 microl, P<0.01); IMT in ACI patients was also significantly thicker compared with volunteers (2.72+/-1.07 mm vs 1.73+/-0.99 mm, P<0.01). There was positive correlation between CEC counts and maximal carotid artery IMT in both groups (r=0.522, P<0.01 in ACI patients and r=0.395, P<0.05 in healthy volunteers).


CONCLUSIONS
Circulating endothelial cell counts can directly reflect the vascular injury. CEC counts parallel IMT. The CEC may be an independent predictor of cerebral infarction.
Gao
Yang
Y
Department of Neurology, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China.
Liu
Chunyan
C
Zhang
Xiangjian
X
Gao
Jian
J
Yang
Chunyan
C
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002452:Cell Count; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002537:Intracranial Arteriosclerosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D017539:Tunica Intima / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D017540:Tunica Media / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler
D015415:Biomarkers