Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences for Children and Adults, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
Methods. 2018 Feb 1;134-135:3-10. doi: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2017.11.002. Epub 2017 Nov 10.
Circulating endothelial cells (CECs) detach from the intima monolayer after endothelial damages. Their circulating endothelial progenitors (CEPs) represent less than 0.01% of nucleated blood cells. Increased levels of CECs and CEPs have been detected in patients with several types of cancer, suggesting that they could be a useful blood-based marker for detecting a tumor, or for monitoring its clinical course. However, their routine monitoring is time consuming and technically challenging. Here, we present a flow cytometry method for quantifying such cells in a cohort of patients with hemangioblastoma (HB). HB is a rare benign tumor, responsible for 1-2.5% of primary intracranial tumors and up to 10% of spinal cord tumors, and for which no tools are available to predict the onset or recurrence in patients undergoing surgical removal of tumor mass. This method allowed us to accurately quantifying CEC and CEP before and after surgery. CEPs are present at high levels in HB patients than control before intervention, and decrease after tumor removal, suggesting that their percentage could represent a valid tool to monitor the disease onset and recurrence.
循环内皮细胞 (CEC) 在血管内皮损伤后从内膜单层脱落。它们的循环内皮祖细胞 (CEP) 占有核血细胞的不到 0.01%。在患有几种类型癌症的患者中检测到 CEC 和 CEP 水平升高，这表明它们可能是一种有用的基于血液的标志物，用于检测肿瘤或监测其临床过程。然而，它们的常规监测既耗时又具有技术挑战性。在这里，我们提出了一种在血管母细胞瘤 (HB) 患者队列中定量这些细胞的流式细胞术方法。HB 是一种罕见的良性肿瘤，占原发性颅内肿瘤的 1-2.5%，占脊髓肿瘤的 10%，对于接受肿瘤切除手术的患者，目前尚无工具可预测其发作或复发。该方法使我们能够在手术前后准确地定量 CEC 和 CEP。HB 患者的 CEP 在干预前比对照组高，并且在肿瘤切除后减少，这表明其百分比可能代表监测疾病发作和复发的有效工具。
