Reduced endothelial progenitor cells in extracranial arterial stenosis but not intracranial arterial stenosis.
OBJECTIVE
Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are novel markers of endothelial dysfunction and are related to cardiovascular disease. However, their relationship with cerebral atherosclerosis (CA) has not been investigated extensively. We aim to study the relationship between CA severity and EPC subpopulations levels.


METHODS
We enrolled 197 patients in this study. EPCs were measured by flow cytometry. Digital subtraction angiography was used to assess CA. Arterial lesion severity was evaluated among cerebral arteries which showed steno-occlusion change and the extent of that condition.


RESULTS
There was a significant inverse correlation between EPCs level and CA prevalence after adjusting for confounders (CD45(-/dim)CD34(+)CD309(+) cells: odds ratio [OR], 0.110; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.026-0.475; P = .00; CD45(-/dim)CD133(+)CD309(+) cells: OR, 0.134; 95% CI, 0.030-0.599; P = .01; CD45(-/dim) CD34(+)CD133(+)CD309(+) cells: OR, 0.010; 95% CI, 0.001-0 .541, P = .02). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that only the EPCs level was significantly inversely associated with extracranial atherosclerosis rather than intracranial atherosclerosis (P > .05).


CONCLUSIONS
Our data indicated that EPCs subpopulations were independent predictors for CA severity, even after controlling for traditional risk factors.
Department of Neurology, Jinling Hospital, Southern Medical University, Nanjing, China; Department of Neurology, Shenzhen Nanshan Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
Zhixin
Z
Huang
Department of Neurology, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing, China.
Xiaohao
X
Zhang
Department of Neurology, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing, China.
Haixia
H
Zhang
Department of Neurology, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing, China.
Ruidong
R
Ye
Department of Neurology, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing, China.
Yunyun
Y
Xiong
Department of Neurology, Jinling Hospital, Southern Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Wen
W
Sun
Department of Neurology, Provincial Clinical Department of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
Yongkun
Y
Li
Department of Neurology, Jinling Hospital, Southern Medical University, Nanjing, China; Department of Neurology, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing, China. Electronic address: xfliu2@vip.163.com.
Xinfeng
X
Liu
D000368:Aged; D015901:Angiography, Digital Subtraction; D002452:Cell Count; D066026:Endothelial Progenitor Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002537:Intracranial Arteriosclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors