PMID- 15698448 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20050630 LR - 20071114 IS - 0085-2538 (Print) IS - 0085-2538 (Linking) VI - 67 IP - 3 DP - 2005 Mar TI - Circulating endothelial cells are associated with future vascular events in hemodialysis patients. PG - 1078-83 AB - BACKGROUND: Endothelial dysfunction and injury are thought to have a key role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. We hypothesized that the presence of circulating endothelial cells, as a reflection of ongoing endothelial injury, might provide a novel means for predicting cardiovascular events in hemodialysis subjects who are known to be at marked increased risk for cardiovascular disease. METHODS: Circulating endothelial cell number was determined in 29 hemodialysis patients who were then followed for vascular events for 470 +/- 172 days. In a second cohort of 44 hemodialysis patients, circulating endothelial cell number was correlated with markers of inflammation, namely high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and endothelial dysfunction, soluble vascular cellular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1). RESULTS: Seven of the 19 subjects with elevated circulating endothelial cells (defined as >19 cells per mL) had cardiovascular (N= 5) or vascular (N= 5) events during follow-up, whereas no events occurred in subjects with a low number of circulating endothelial cells (