Department of Cardiovascular Physiology and Medicine, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan.
Hypertension. 2011 Jan;57(1):70-8. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.110.163683. Epub 2010 Nov 29.
Thromboangitis obliterans (TAO; Buerger's disease) and atherosclerosis obliterans (ASO) are associated with endothelial dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of circulating progenitor cells (CPCs) in endothelial function in patients with TAO and ASO. We measured flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD), nitroglycerine-induced vasodilation, and circulating CPCs in 30 patients with TAO and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects and in 40 patients with ASO. FMD was smaller in both the TAO group and ASO group than in the control group (6.6 ± 2.7%, 5.7 ± 3.3% versus 9.5 ± 3.1%, P<0.0001, respectively). There was no significant difference in FMD between the TAO group and ASO group. Nitroglycerine-induced vasodilation was similar in the 3 groups. The number of and migration of circulating CPCs were similar in the TAO group and control group, whereas the number of and migration of circulating CPCs were significantly lower in the ASO group than in other groups (ASO 553 ± 297/mL versus TAO 963 ± 543/mL; control 1063 ± 426/mL and ASO 36 ± 18/hpf versus TAO 62 ± 23/hpf; control 68 ± 18/hpf, P<0.0001, respectively). There was a significant relationship between the number of and migration of CPCs and FMD (r = 0.43 and r = 0.40, P<0.0001, respectively). FMD was impaired in patients with TAO as well as in patients with ASO compared to that in normal control subjects, and the number of and function of circulating CPCs were not decreased in patients with TAO. These findings may partially explain why there are differences in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality rates between patients with TAO and patients with ASO.
血栓闭塞性脉管炎（TAO；伯格氏病）和动脉硬化闭塞症（ASO）与内皮功能障碍有关。本研究旨在评估循环祖细胞（CPCs）在 TAO 和 ASO 患者内皮功能中的作用。我们测量了 30 例 TAO 患者、30 例年龄和性别匹配的健康对照者以及 40 例 ASO 患者的血流介导的血管舒张（FMD）、硝酸甘油诱导的血管舒张和循环 CPCs。与对照组相比，TAO 组和 ASO 组的 FMD 均较小（分别为 6.6±2.7%、5.7±3.3%和 9.5±3.1%，P<0.0001）。TAO 组和 ASO 组之间 FMD 无显著差异。3 组之间硝酸甘油诱导的血管舒张相似。TAO 组和对照组的循环 CPC 数量和迁移相似，而 ASO 组的循环 CPC 数量和迁移明显低于其他组（ASO 553±297/mL 比 TAO 963±543/mL；对照组 1063±426/mL 和 ASO 36±18/hpf 比 TAO 62±23/hpf；对照组 68±18/hpf，P<0.0001）。CPC 数量和迁移与 FMD 呈显著正相关（r=0.43 和 r=0.40，P<0.0001）。与正常对照组相比，TAO 患者和 ASO 患者的 FMD 均受损，而 TAO 患者的循环 CPC 数量和功能并未降低。这些发现部分解释了为什么 TAO 患者和 ASO 患者的心血管发病率和死亡率存在差异。
