CD34+ cell count predicts long lasting life in the oldest old.
Circulating progenitor cells (CPCs) represent a pool of cells capable of differentiating into mature cells of different organs and systems, promoting tissue maintenance and repair. Among CPCs, CD34+cells (CD34+CPCs) seem to predict outcome in CV disease, also in elderly people. A decline in CD34+CPCs was reported with advancing age. Moreover, aging is associated with a state of chronic inflammation, influencing life expectancy. Our purpose was to investigate a 10-year predictive ability of CD34+CPCs, inflammatory marker levels, classic CV risk factors (CVRFs), and Framingham Risk Score (FRS) in a population of healthy, self-sufficient octogenarians. We found that baseline CD34+CPCs was strongly associated with mortality, showing a significant difference in CD34+CPC numbers between deceased and living patients. Moreover, by dividing our patients into tertiles based on age reached, this difference was more remarkable the higher the age reached. Regressive analyses suggested that the chances of reaching an older age depend on higher CD34+CPCs at baseline and are not significantly affected by inflammatory markers levels, FRS, CVFRs, or HDL-C levels. We found that higher CD34+CPCs predict longer life also in the oldest old, providing additional insights on the predictive role of CD34+CPCs in subjects aged 80 years or more.
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Internal Medicine, Italy. Electronic address: gmandraffino@unime.it.
Giuseppe
G
Mandraffino
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Internal Medicine, Italy.
Caterina Oriana
CO
Aragona
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Geriatrics and Gerontology, Italy.
Giorgio
G
Basile
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Internal Medicine, Italy.
Valentina
V
Cairo
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Internal Medicine, Italy.
Federica
F
Mamone
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Internal Medicine, Italy.
Carmela
C
Morace
Department of Biochemical, Physiological and Nutritional Sciences, Italy.
Angela
A
D'Ascola
Department of Economics, Section of Statistical and Mathematical Sciences, Italy.
Angela
A
Alibrandi
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Internal Medicine, Italy.
Alberto
A
Lo Gullo
Department of Biochemical, Physiological and Nutritional Sciences, Italy.
Saverio
S
Loddo
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Internal Medicine, Italy.
Antonino
A
Saitta
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Internal Medicine, Italy.
Egidio
E
Imbalzano
D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018952:Antigens, CD34 / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008136:Longevity; D008297:Male; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*
D018952:Antigens, CD34
Aged 80 and over; Health status; Inflammatory markers; Longevity; Progenitor cells; Successfully ageing