Page 197 - Read Online

Berezin. Vessel Plus 2018;2:22 Vessel Plus
DOI: 10.20517/2574-1209.2018.23

Review Open Access

The endothelial progenitor cell dysfunction in
hypertension: the diagnostic and predictive values

Alexander E Berezin
Department of Internal Medicine, State Medical University, Zaporozhye 69035, Ukraine.

Correspondence to: Prof. Alexander E Berezin, Department of Internal Medicine, State Medical University, Mayakovsky av.,
Zaporozhye 69035, Ukraine. E-mail: aeberezin@gmail.com; dr_berezin@mail.ru

How to cite this article: Berezin AE. The endothelial progenitor cell dysfunction in hypertension: the diagnostic and predictive
values. Vessel Plus 2018;2:22. http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2574-1209.2018.23

Received: 28 Apr 2018 First Decision: 23 Jul 2018 Revised: 25 Jul 2018 Accepted: 2 Aug 2018 Published: 13 Sep 2018
Science Editor: Alexander D. Verin Copy Editor: Huan-Liang Wu Production Editor: Zhong-Yu Guo

Abstract
Hypertension remains a leading risk factor of cardiovascular (CV) events and disease in the general population. The
prevalence of hypertension is present in developed and developing countries and according to various assessments may
fluctuate between 30% to 90% with considerable regional differences. Hypertension influences CV risk and mortality
rate through target organ damages that affect vasculature particularly endothelium. Endothelial dysfunction is an
independent risk factor of CV complications. Recent studies have shown that a decreased number and altered function
of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) may be a powerful marker of endothelial dysfunction with possible
predictive value. The aim of this review is to update the current evidence of the role of endothelial progenitor cell
dysfunction in impaired vascular reparation and CV risk in hypertension. The review discusses the interrelation between
EPC dysfunction and traditional CV risk factors, such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, prediabetes/diabetes
mellitus. It has been speculated that EPC dysfunction could appear prior to hypertension and represents an appropriate
hypertensive phenotype with exaggerated CV risk. However, the predictive value of EPC dysfunction in hypertensive
patients is not established and requires to be investigated in large clinical controlled trials.

Keywords: Hypertension, endothelial dysfunction, endothelial progenitor cells, vascular reparation, biomarkers

INTRODUCTION
Hypertension is now recognized as an established powerful risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) that
[1]
is a primary cause of mortality and disability worldwide . The prevalence of hypertension relates closely
to age, sex, urban/rural location, lowered income in certain countries, affordability of insurance, type of
[2,3]
nutrition, and comorbidities, such as diabetes mellitus, obesity, and chronic kidney disease . The prevalence
of the disease in developing and developed countries varies and fluctuates from 30% to 90% confirming

© The Author(s) 2018. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use,
sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as long
as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license,
and indicate if changes were made.

www.vpjournal.net