Abstract
Background: Cardiovascular risk factors contribute to atherogenesis by inducing endothelial-cell injury and dysfunction. We hypothesized that endothelial progenitor cells derived from bone marrow have a role in ongoing endothelial repair and that impaired mobilization or depletion of these cells contributes to endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular disease progression.
Methods: We measured the number of colony-forming units of endothelial progenitor cells in peripheral-blood samples from 45 men (mean [±SE] age, 50±2 years). The subjects had various degrees of cardiovascular risk but no history of cardiovascular disease. Endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent function was assessed by high-resolution ultrasonography of the brachial artery.
Results: We observed a strong correlation between the number of circulating endothelial progenitor cells and the subjects' combined Framingham risk factor score (r=–0.47, P=0.001). Measurement of flow-mediated brachial-artery reactivity also revealed a significant relation between endothelial function and the number of progenitor cells (r=0.59, P
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 593 - 600 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | New England Journal of Medicine |
Volume | 348 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 13 Feb 2003 |