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(Circulation. 2004;109:2972-2975.)
© 2004 American Heart Association, Inc.

Brief Rapid Communications

Circulating CD34-Positive Cells Provide an Index of Cerebrovascular Function

Akihiko Taguchi, MD; Tomohiro Matsuyama, MD; Hiroshi Moriwaki, MD; Takuya Hayashi, MD; Kohei Hayashida, MD; Kazuyuki Nagatsuka, MD; Kenichi Todo, MD; Katsushi Mori; David M. Stern, MD; Toshihiro Soma, MD; Hiroaki Naritomi, MD

From the Departments of Cerebrovascular Disease (A.T., H.M., K.N., K.T., H.N.), Radiology and Nuclear Medicine (T.H., K.H.), and Clinical Physiology (K.M.), National Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan; Department of Internal Medicine (T.M.), Hyogo College of Medicine, Hyogo, Japan; Dean’s Office (D.M.S.), Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Ga; and Department of Hematology (T.S.), Osaka Minami National Hospital, Osaka, Japan.

Correspondence to Akihiko Taguchi, Department of Cerebrovascular Disease, National Cardiovascular Center, 5-7-1 Fujishiro-dai, Suita, Osaka, 565-8565 Japan. E-mail ataguchi{at}res.ncvc.go.jp

Received December 8, 2003; de novo received April 12, 2004; accepted May 11, 2004.

Background— Increasing evidence points to a role for circulating endothelial progenitor cells, including populations of CD34- and CD133-positive cells present in peripheral blood, in maintenance of the vasculature and neovascularization. Immature populations, including CD34-positive cells, have been shown to contribute to vascular homeostasis, not only as a pool of endothelial progenitor cells but also as a source of growth/angiogenesis factors at ischemic loci. We hypothesized that diminished numbers of circulating immature cells might impair such physiological and reparative processes, potentially contributing to cerebrovascular dysfunction.

Methods and Results— The level of circulating immature cells, CD34-, CD133-, CD117-, and CD135-positive cells, in patients with a history of atherothrombotic cerebral ischemic events was analyzed to assess possible correlations with the degree of carotid atherosclerosis and number of cerebral infarctions. There was a strong inverse correlation between numbers of circulating CD34- and CD133-positive cells and cerebral infarction. In contrast, there was no correlation between the degree of atherosclerosis and populations of circulating immature cells. Analysis of patients with cerebral artery occlusion revealed a significant positive correlation between circulating CD34- and CD133-positive cells and regional blood flow in areas of chronic hypoperfusion.

Conclusions— These results suggest a possible contribution of circulating CD34- and CD133-positive cells in maintenance of the cerebral circulation in settings of ischemic stress. Our data demonstrate the utility of a simple and precise method to quantify circulating CD34-positive cells, the latter providing a marker of cerebrovascular function.

Key Words: cerebral infarction • cerebral ischemia • antigens, CD34 • stem cells

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