The decrease of endothelial progenitor cells caused by high altitude may lead to coronary heart disease

X.-Q. Ha, J. Li, C.-P. Mai, X.-L. Cai, C.-Y. Yan, C.-X. Jia, S. He

The 940th Hospital of Joint Logistics Support Force of PLA, Lanzhou, Gansu, China. haxiaoqin20@21cn.com

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• Cardiology

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the number of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and coronary heart disease (CHD).

PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 24 patients with CHD were chosen from Lanzhou City and Xianyang City, and then, 24 healthy controls who matched the CHD group in gender, age and address were chosen as control group. C-reactive protein (CRP) and c-reaction protein (hs-CRP) were detected. The levels of interleukin-8 (IL-8), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), homocysteine (Hcy), hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1α) and stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1α) were detected.

RESULTS: The number of EPCs in control groups was both increased compared with CHD group (p<0.05). The number of EPCs in Xianyang control group was increased compared with Lanzhou control group (p<0.05). Compared with the control group, the levels of TC, LDL and CRP in the CHD group were higher (p<0.05). Compared with Lanzhou control group, Hcy level was decreased in Lanzhou CHD group (p<0.05). Compared with Xianyang control group, the levels of IL-8 and VEGF were increased, but the levels of HIF-1α and Hcy were decreased in the Xianyang CHD group (p<0.05). The expressions of IL-8, VEGF, Hcy and HIF-1α were increased in Lanzhou control group than the Xianyang control group (p<0.05). In Lanzhou CHD group, Spearman correlation analysis showed that the number of EPCs was negatively related to hs-CRP content (r=-0.631, p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: The decrease of EPCs caused by high altitude may increase the expressions of various cytokines, leading to the occurrence of CHD.

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