Individual with subclinical atherosclerosis have impaired proliferation of blood outgrowth endothelial cells, which can be restored by statin therapy.

Abstract

BackgroundTo study the regenerative capacity of the endothelium in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), we cultured blood outgrowth endothelial cells (BOECs) of patients with premature CAD and their first degree relatives (FDR). Additionally we evaluated the influence of statin treatment on circulating BOEC precursors in subjects with subclinical atherosclerosis.Methods and resultsPatients with premature CAD (men 0). We did not observe differences in the number of BOEC colonies and proliferation between premature CAD patients and FDRs. FDRs with subclinical atherosclerosis had lower colony numbers compared with healthy FDRs, however this was not statistically significant, and BOEC proliferation was significantly impaired (OR = 0.45, 95% CI 0.21-0.96). Unexpectedly, the number of BOEC colonies and BOEC proliferation were similar for premature CAD patients and healthy FDRs. Since a considerable number of premature CAD patients used statins, we studied the number of BOEC precursors as well as their proliferative capacity in ten individuals with subclinical atherosclerosis, before and after statin therapy. Interestingly, FDRs with subclinical atherosclerosis showed a significant increase in the number of BOEC colonies after statin therapy.ConclusionBOEC proliferation of subjects with subclinical atherosclerosis is impaired compared with healthy controls. In these subjects, statin therapy significantly increased the number of circulating BOEC precursors as well as their proliferative capacity, revealing a beneficial effect of statins on endothelial regeneration.