Abstract
Background: Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are thought to contribute to reendothelialization and neoangiogenesis. Since it is known that EPCs express a testosterone receptor, we wanted to assess the prevalence of testosterone deficiency in patients with CHF and its impact on circulating EPCs. Methods: 137 male patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) were included (age 61 ± 13 years; BMI 29 ± 5 kg/m2; New York Heart Association classification (NYHA) I: n = 47, NYHA II: n = 51, NYHA III: n = 39). Numbers of different populations of circulating EPCs were quantified using flow cytometry. Levels of free testosterone and EPC-regulating cytokines were determined using ELISA. Results: The prevalence of testosterone deficiency in our University CHF clinic was 39%. However, there was no difference between patients with and without testosterone deficiency regarding their levels of EPCs. Testosterone levels were inversely correlated with age (R2 = −0.32, p = 0.001) and NYHA status (R2 = 0.28, p = 0.001) and correlated with cardiorespiratory capacity (R2 = 0.26, p = 0.03). Conclusion: Testosterone deficiency is frequent in male patients with CHF but does not appear to impact the regenerative EPCs.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Annett Schmidt for excellent technical assistance.
Declaration of interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.