Department of Hypertension & Vascular Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Clin Exp Hypertens. 2010;32(7):444-52. doi: 10.3109/10641961003686435. Epub 2010 Oct 13.
Endothelial dysfunction is related to reduced arterial elasticity in patients with essential hypertension. Circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), an important endogenous repair approach for endothelial injury, is altered in hypertensive patients. However, the association between alteration in circulating EPCs and hypertension-related reduced arterial elasticity has not been reported. The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between alteration in circulating EPCs and hypertension-related reduced arterial elasticity. We measured the artery elasticity profiles including brachial-ankle PWV (baPWV) and C1 large and C2 small artery elasticity indices in patients with essential hypertension (n = 20) and age-matched normotensive subjects (n = 21). The number and activity of circulating EPCs isolated from peripheral blood were determined. Compared to normotensive subjects, the patients with hypertension exhibited decreased C1 large and C2 small artery elasticity indices, as well as increased baPWV. The number of circulating EPCs did not differ between the two groups. The migratory and proliferative activities of circulating EPCs in hypertensive patients were lower than those in normotensive subjects. Both proliferatory and migratory activities of circulating EPCs closely correlated with arterial elasticity profiles, including baPWV and C1 large and C2 small artery elasticity indices. Multivariate analysis identified both proliferative and migratory activities of circulating EPCs as independent predictors of the artery elasticity profiles. The present study demonstrates for the first time that impaired activity of circulating EPCs is associated with reduced arterial elasticity in patients with hypertension. The fall in endogenous repair capacity of vascular endothelium may be involved in the pathogenesis of hypertension-related vascular injury.
内皮功能障碍与原发性高血压患者动脉弹性降低有关。循环内皮祖细胞（EPCs）是内皮损伤的重要内源性修复途径，在高血压患者中发生改变。然而，循环 EPCs 的改变与高血压相关的动脉弹性降低之间的关系尚未报道。本研究旨在探讨循环 EPCs 的改变与高血压相关的动脉弹性降低之间的关系。我们测量了包括肱踝脉搏波速度（baPWV）和 C1 大动脉及 C2 小动脉弹性指数在内的动脉弹性谱，纳入了 20 例原发性高血压患者和 21 例年龄匹配的血压正常受试者。测定了外周血中循环 EPCs 的数量和活性。与血压正常受试者相比，高血压患者的 C1 大动脉和 C2 小动脉弹性指数降低，baPWV 增加。两组间循环 EPCs 的数量无差异。高血压患者的循环 EPCs 迁移和增殖活性低于血压正常受试者。循环 EPCs 的增殖和迁移活性与动脉弹性谱密切相关，包括 baPWV 和 C1 大动脉及 C2 小动脉弹性指数。多变量分析确定了循环 EPCs 的增殖和迁移活性是动脉弹性谱的独立预测因子。本研究首次证明，循环 EPCs 活性受损与高血压患者的动脉弹性降低有关。血管内皮内源性修复能力的下降可能参与了高血压相关血管损伤的发病机制。
