高血压前期循环内皮祖细胞数量和功能的性别差异

背景：目前对高血压前期循环内皮祖细胞数量和功能的性别差异尚不明确。 目的：探讨性别差异对高血压前期循环内皮祖细胞数量和功能的影响。 方法：选择79例年龄(46.4±4.5)岁的人群作为研究对象，其中绝经前健康女性志愿者18例、绝经前高血压前期女性患者21例、健康男性志愿者21例和高血压前期男性患者19例，取外周血用流式细胞仪测定CD34和 KDR双标阳性循环内皮祖细胞水平，ac-LDL 及 lectin 荧光标记方法评估体外培养内皮祖细胞数量， MTT法和Transwell小室评估内皮祖细胞的增殖能力和迁移能力，测定各组血浆雌激素水平。 结果与结论：与高血压前期男性患者和健康男性志愿者比较，绝经前高血压前期女性患者和绝经前健康女性志愿者的CD34+/KDR+双阳性循环内皮祖细胞数量、ac-LDL及lectin 抗体双阳性内皮祖细胞数量增加      (P均< 0.05)，内皮祖细胞迁移和增殖能力明显增强(P < 0.05)，血浆雌激素水平增高(P < 0.05)。绝经前高血压前期女性患者与绝经前健康女性的内皮祖细胞迁移和增殖能力无明显差异(P > 0.05)，而高血压前期男性患者的内皮祖细胞迁移和增殖能力较健康男性减弱。血浆雌激素水平与循环内皮祖细胞数量及功能呈明显的直线相关关系(P < 0.05)。这些结果证实，高血压前期循环内皮祖细胞数量和功能存在性别差异，相比高血压前期男性患者，绝经前高血压前期女性患者循环内皮祖细胞数量增多，增殖和迁移能力增强，其可能与机体内较高的雌激素水平有关。

Sex differences in the number and activity of circulating endothelial progenitor cells in prehypertension

BACKGROUND:The sex differences in circulating endothelial progenitor cells under the condition of prehypertension are still unclear. OBJECTIVE:To investigate whether there is a sex difference in circulating endothelial progenitor cells in prehypertension. METHODS:Seventy-nine volunteers, (46.4±4.5) years old, were divided into four groups: normotensive  premenopausal women (n=18), prehypertensive premenopausal women (n=21), normotensive men (n=21) and prehypertensive men (n=19). Flow cytometry analysis was used to evaluate the number of CD34 and KDR double-positive labeled circulating endothelial progenitor cells in the four groups, and acetylated low density lipoprotein (LDL) and lectin fluorescent staining method were used to evaluate the number of cultured endothelial progenitor cells. The migration and proliferation of endothelial progenitor cells were detected. In addition, the estradiol level in plasma was measured in the four groups. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Flow cytometry analysis showed that the number of CD34+/KDR+ circulating endothelial progenitor cells in normotensive and prehypertensive premenopausal women was higher than that in normotensive and prehypertensive men (all P < 0.05). The acetylated-LDL and lectin fluorescent staining method indicated that the cultured endothelial progenitor cells also increased in normotensive and prehypertensive premenopausal women (P < 0.05). The proliferative and migratory activities of cultured endothelial progenitor cells were higher in normotensive and prehypertensive premenopausal women compared with normotensive and prehypertensive men (P < 0.05). There was no difference in the migratory or proliferative activity of endothelial progenitor cells between normotensive and prehypertensive premenopausal women (P > 0.05). However, the migratory or proliferative activity of endothelial progenitor cells was higher in normotensive men than in prehypertensive men (P < 0.05). The level of plasma estradiol in normotensive women and prehypertensive premenopausal women was significantly higher than that in normotensive and prehypertensive men (P < 0.05). The plasma estradiol level showed a linear correlation with the number or activity of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (P < 0.05)．In all, sex differences in the number or activity of endothelial progenitor cells exist in prehypertension. Therefore, the number and activity of circulating endothelial progenitor cells in prehypertensive premenopausal women were preserved when compared with prehypertensive men, which may be related to the enhanced plasma estradiol level.