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Rheumatology Advance Access originally published online on August 5, 2008
Rheumatology 2008 47(10):1484-1488; doi:10.1093/rheumatology/ken299
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Endothelial progenitor cells and colony-forming units in rheumatoid arthritis: association with clinical characteristics

C. G. Egan1,2, F. Caporali1,2, E. Garcia-Gonzalez3, M. Galeazzi3 and V. Sorrentino1,2

1Molecular Medicine Section, Department of Neuroscience, 2Center for Stem Cell Research and 3Department of Clinical Medicine and Immunology, Rheumatology Section, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.

Correspondence to: V. Sorrentino, Molecular Medicine Section, Department of Neuroscience, University of Siena, via A. Moro, 53100 Siena, Italy. E-mail: v.sorrentino{at}unisi.it


  Abstract

Objective. To compare levels of a range of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and endothelial colony-forming units (CFUs) in control participants and RA patients, in addition to verifying whether levels of EPCs or CFUs are associated with clinical characteristics in RA patients.

Methods. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 36 RA patients and 30 control participants were analysed by flow cytometry for EPCs defined by the expression of CD34/CD133, CD34/CD117, CD34/CD31, CD34/KDR and CD34/CD133/KDR. Endothelial cell colonies derived from culture of PBMCs were also assessed by CFU assay.

Results. No differences in levels of EPCs were observed in RA patients compared with controls. However, levels of EPCs were negatively associated with prognostic markers of poor disease status, but not cardiovascular (CV)-related risk factors. Furthermore, the majority of EPCs examined were negatively correlated with levels of RF. In contrast, CFU number was significantly reduced in RA patients compared with controls and was negatively associated with CV risk factors only.

Conclusion. These findings indicate that more informative than comparing changes in absolute levels of EPCs, the examination of their relationship with clinical characteristics of RA patients can reveal significant associations, which may provide important clinical insights.

KEY WORDS: Endothelial progenitor cells, Rheumatoid arthritis, Disease severity, Peripheral blood mononuclear cells, Rheumatoid factor, Prognostic markers, Flow cytometry, Colony-forming unit, Haematopoietic, Stem cell

Submitted 7 May 2008; Accepted 30 June 2008


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