Abstract:

Objective To explore the correlation between circulating CD34⁺ cell level and elderly patients with hypertension and analyze Ang-1/Tie-2 expression in endothelial progenitor cells and its regulatory meaning. Methods Fiftynine elderly patients with hypertension and 59 healthy people were enrolled and assigned to the hypertension group and the control group, respectively. The mRNA level of Ang-1/Tie-2  was measured by RTPCR. Flow cytometry was used to detect the CD34⁺/PMNC value in peripheral blood. The correlations between CD34⁺/PMNC value in peripheral blood and clinical indexes and between Ang-1 and Tie-2  mRNA levels and CD34⁺/PMNC value were analyzed. Results The CD34⁺/PMNC value in peripheral blood of the hypertension group was significantly lower than that of the control group (P=0.000). The CD34⁺/PMNC value in peripheral blood of the hypertension group was negatively correlated to systolic pressure (r=-0.622; P=0.009), while was not correlated to diastolic pressure, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, fasting blood glucose and uric acid. The Ang-1 and Tie-2 mRNA levels in endothelial progenitor cells of the hypertension group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P=0.000) and were positively correlated to CD34+/PMNC value （r=0.561,P=0.005；r=0.473,P=0.009）. Conclusion Cardiovascular lesions in elderly patients with hypertension may be associated with the downregulation of Ang-1 and Tie-2 levels, which affects repair function of endothelial progenitor cells.

Key words: elderly patients with hypertension, circulating endothelial progenitor cells, CD34⁺