Circulating CD31 ⁺ /Annexin V ⁺ Apoptotic Microparticles Correlate With Coronary Endothelial Function in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease

Abstract

Objective-Endothelial dysfunction predicts morbidity and mortality in patients at cardiovascular risk. Endothelial function may be decisively influenced by the degree of endothelial cell apoptosis. Methods and Results-To test this hypothesis in humans, endothelial-dependent vasodilatation was invasively assessed in 50 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) by quantitative coronary angiography during intracoronary acetylcholine infusion. Flow cytometry was used to assess endothelial cell apoptosis by quantification of circulating CD31 ϩ /annexin V ϩ apoptotic microparticles in peripheral blood. Increased apoptotic microparticle counts positively correlated with impairment of coronary endothelial function. Multivariate analysis revealed that increased apoptotic microparticle counts predict severe endothelial dysfunction independent of classical risk factors, such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, smoking, diabetes, age, or sex. Conclusions-In patients with CAD, endothelial-dependent vasodilatation closely relies on the degree of endothelial cell apoptosis, which is readily measurable by circulating CD31 ϩ /annexin V ϩ apoptotic microparticles. These findings possibly provide new options for risk assessment and may have implications for future treatment strategies of CAD.

Endothelial microparticles correlate with erectile dysfunction in diabetic men

“…An increase in EMP levels has been demonstrated in patients with cardiovascular disease, such as acute coronary syndromes, diabetes, hypertension and hypertriglyceridemia. [19][20][21][22][23] Microparticles can also influence endothelial functions: microparticles from patients with acute coronary syndromes directly impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilatation in rat aorta rings, presumably by inhibition of the nitric oxidemediated signal transduction. 9,10 Although microparticles are elevated in condition of endothelial 24 Endothelial cell dysfunction may be detected clinically by measuring impairment of endotheliumdependent vasodilation 25 or by determining the plasma levels of circulating soluble markers.…”

Obesity and sexual dysfunction, male and female

“…An increase in endothelial microparticle (EMP) levels has been demonstrated in patients with cardiovascular disease, such as acute coronary syndromes, diabetes, hypertension and hypertriglyceridemia. [29][30][31][32][33] Microparticles can also influence endothelial functions: microparticles from patients with acute coronary syndromes directly impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilatation in rat aorta-rings, presumably by inhibition of the nitric oxide-mediated signal transduction. 34,35 Although microparticles are elevated in condition of endothelial cell loss, as a consequence of inflammatory processes and the associated vascular damage, they may play a direct role in atherogenesis, also considering that EMPs can directly activate and stimulate cells to produce inflammatory mediators such as cytokines.…”

Endothelial damage and vascular calcification in patients with chronic kidney disease

“…EMPs are very heterogeneous; the phenotype and functional properties vary according to factors involved in their release (22,25). Moreover, an elevated number of EMPs reflects cellular injury as a surrogate marker of vascular dysfunction in cardiovascular disease (40). In our study, CKD patients with VC had a greater number of EMPs than patients without VC.…”