The decrement in circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in type 2 diabetes is independent of the severity of the hypoadiponectemia

✍ Scribed by Mingfang Li; Jenny C. Y. Ho; Kevin W. H. Lai; Karen K. W. Au; Aimin Xu; Bernard M. Y. Cheung; Karen S. L. Lam; Hung-Fat Tse

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 345 KB
• Volume: 27
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1520-7552
• DOI: 10.1002/dmrr.1159

✦ Synopsis

Background Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with a decreased level of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and adiponectin. Experimental studies suggest a potential link between hypoadiponectinaemia and the depletion of the EPC level. This study investigated the relationships between adiponectin level and EPC in patients with type 2 DM.

Methods A total of 95 type 2 DM patients (58.5 ± 8.8 years, 42 men) and 95 age-and sex-matched healthy controls were recruited. Circulating EPC levels were determined by flow cytometry using CD133 + , CD34 + , CD133 + /KDR + and CD34 + /KDR + as surface markers. Plasma adiponectin levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. EPC function was studied by in vitro tube formation and migration assay.

Results

The levels of CD133 + (p < 0.001) and CD133 + /KDR + (p < 0.001) EPCs were independently associated with the presence of type 2 DM. The levels of CD34 + (p = 0.004) and CD34 + /KDR + (p = 0.013) EPCs were independently associated with haemoglobin A 1c . Nevertheless, there was no relationship between the number of EPCs and adiponectin level. Tube formation assay showed impaired pro-angiogenic function of EPC in DM patients compared with controls (p = 0.007). Interestingly, adiponectin supplementation (5 µg/mL) increased tube formation by 17.6% in EPCs from DM patients (p = 0.002). It also significantly enhanced cell migration by 35.9% in EPCs from DM patients (p = 0.01).

Conclusions

We detected no relationship between the reduction in the level of EPC and in the level of total adiponectin in blood from patients with type 2 diabetes. EPC from patients with diabetes were stimulated when exposed to adiponectin in the test tube, findings that warrant further study.