title: Circulating endothelial progenitor cell levels are not reduced in HIV-infected men.
abstract: Reduced levels of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have been associated with increased cardiovascular (CV) risk, but limited data are available on EPC levels in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected population. EPCs (CD45(dim)/CD34(+)/kinase domain receptor(+)) from 36 HIV-uninfected and 30 antiretroviral therapy-naive HIV-infected men without known CV risk factors were enumerated using flow cytometry. The mean EPC levels (± standard error of the mean) were 1.4 ± 0.5 cells/μL in the HIV-infected group and 3.7 ± 2.2 cells/μL in the control group (P = .92). EPC levels were not associated with disease parameters, such as CD4 cell count or viral load. Reductions in EPC levels do not seem to explain the increased risk of CV disease among HIV-infected men.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, The Ottawa Hospital, Canada.
authors.forename: Cecilia T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Costiniuk
authors.forename: Benjamin M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Hibbert
authors.forename: Lionel G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Filion
authors.forename: Colin M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Kovacs
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Benko
authors.forename: Edward R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: Jonathan B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Angel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018952:Antigens, CD34 / Q000032:analysis; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000209:etiology; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology; D040301:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 / Q000032:analysis; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D018952:Antigens, CD34; D040301:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens