https://doi.org/10.4081/reumatismo.2005.174

Endothelial progenitor cells in systemic sclerosis: their possible role in angiogenesis

Vol. 57 No. 3 (2005)
Submitted: 22 March 2011
Accepted: 22 March 2011
Published: 11 April 2005
Abstract Views: 1078
PDF: 1422
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

N. Del Papa
office@pagepress.org
M. Cortiana
D.P. Comina
W. Maglione
I. Silvestris
L. Moronetti Mazzeo
N. Fracchiolla
F. Fantini
A. Cortelezzi
Background: Recently, several studies have demonstrated the presence of circulating endothelial progenitors (CEPs) responsable for angiogenesis. Notably, these cells are able to migrate to ischemic tissues and differentiate in situ in mature endothelial cells. Aim of this study was to assess the presence of CEPs in the peripheral blood of patients with Sistemic Sclerosis (SSc) and evaluate their significance as an attempt of re-vascularization Material and methods: Samples of peripheral blood from 40 healthy subjects and 56 patients with SSc were studied. Five-parameter, 3-color flow cytometry was performed with a FACScan. CEPs were defined as CD45 negative, CD34 and CD133 positive. In addition, plasma levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) were detected by commercial ELISA (R&D Systems). Results: Levels of CEPs (CD133+/CD34+/CD45-) were significantly higher in patients with SSc in comparison to HC (P = 0.01). No correlation was found between CEPs and any clinical parameter of disease neither activity score. CEPs were significantly higher in the group of patients with early disease, while their number decreased in the late phases of disease. Plasma levels of VEGF, but not bFGF, were significantly higher in SSc in comparison to HC (P<0.001) but no correlation was found between VEGF concentrations and CEP number. Conclusions: The presence of CEPs in patients with SSc suggest that sclerodermic hypoxic tissues could induce the mobilization of bone-marrow derived cells in an attempt to provided new vessels, in the early phase of the disease, at least.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

How to Cite

Del Papa, N., Cortiana, M., Comina, D., Maglione, W., Silvestris, I., Moronetti Mazzeo, L., … Cortelezzi, A. (2005). Endothelial progenitor cells in systemic sclerosis: their possible role in angiogenesis. Reumatismo, 57(3), 174–179. https://doi.org/10.4081/reumatismo.2005.174

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.