Changes of circulating endothelial progenitor cells and their clinical significance in patients with acute cerebral infarction

Objective To investigate the changes of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in patients with acute cerebral infarction or chronic cerebral ischemia and discuss the related clinical significance.Methods Circulating EPCs were isolated using staining markers of CD34,CD133,and kinase insert domain receptor (KDR).Peripheral venous blood was collected from patients with acute cerebral infarction within 24 hours of onset (infarction group,n =30),with chronic cerebral ischemia (ischemia group,n =20),and without cerebral ischemia (control group,n =10) to quantify circulating level of EPCs using flow cytometry and measure parameters of systolic pressure,glycosylated hemoglobin (HbAlc),total cholesterol (TC),and triglyceride (TG),and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C),and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C).Results CD34-,CD34/CD133-,and CD34/KDR-positive cells counted (14.2 ± 8.1)‰,(7.1 ± 4.1)‰ and (5.0 ± 3.7)‰ in infarction group,(28.5 ± 9.9)‰,(15.2 ± 3.7)‰ and (6.8 ± 2.0)‰ in ischemia group,and (44.8 ± 9.5) ‰,(22.1 ± 6.6) ‰ and (16.7 ± 6.9) ‰ in control group.Taken together,circulating level of EPCs lowered substantially in infarction and ischemia groups compared to control group (P ＜ 0.05) and a far lower level was observed in infarction group (P ＜ 0.05).Circulating level of EPCs in infarction group was in a moderate negative correlation with systolic pressure,TC,TG,and LDL-C (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Decreased circulating level of EPCs may be a risk factor to the development of cerebral ischemia in acute cerebral infarction patients.Therefore,level of EPCs is vital for prediction,prevention and treatment of acute cerebral infarction. Key words: Infarction, middle cerebral artery;  Brain ischemia;  Endothelial progenitor cell