High Levels of Circulating Endothelial Progenitor Cells Are Associated with Acrotism in Patients with Takayasu Arteritis.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the association between endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and Takayasu arteritis (TA). Subjects andMethods: A total of 39 subjects were included in this study: 12 subjects had been diagnosed with active TA, 11 had active Behçet disease (BD), and 16 were healthy controls. The EPCs, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels of all the subjects were measured. MedCalc 15.8 software (MedCalc, Belgium) was used for all statistical analyses.


RESULTS
The level of EPCs was higher in TA patients (4.25 ± 2.56) than in the BD group (2.27 ± 2.0) and the healthy controls (2.12 ± 1.2) (p = 0.015). TA patients with acrotism (n = 4) had higher levels of EPCs compared to TA patients without acrotism (n = 8) (6.50 ± 1.73 vs. 3.12 ± 2.16, p = 0.02). A positive correlation was found between EPCs and the ESR (r = 0.723, p = 0.0079) and between EPCs and CRP in patients with TA (r = 0.769, p < 0.0034).


CONCLUSIONS
High levels of circulating EPCs were correlated with the CRP level and the ESR in patients with TA. These cells could be a marker for acrotism and inflammation in patients with TA.
Department of Internal Medicine, Numune Training and Research Hospital, Adana, Turkey.
Şakir Özgür
ŞÖ
Keşkek
Emine Duygu
ED
Bozkırlı-Ersözlü
Ilknur
I
Kozanoglu
Ahmet Eftal
AE
Yücel
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015415:Biomarkers; D001799:Blood Sedimentation; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D066026:Endothelial Progenitor Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D013625:Takayasu Arteritis / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014421:Turkey
D015415:Biomarkers; D002097:C-Reactive Protein