Impact of age and gender interaction on circulating endothelial progenitor cells in healthy subjects

Objective: To assess the level of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (CEPC) in cycling women compared with men and menopausal women. Design: Controlled clinical study. Setting: Healthy, nonsmoking volunteers. Patient(s): Twelve women, aged 18-40 years, with regular menstrual cycles, 12 menopausal women, and two groups of 12 age-matched men were recruited. Women did not receive any hormone therapy. Intervention(s): Collection of 20 mL of peripheral blood. Main Outcome Measure(S): The number of CEPC, defined as (Lin-/7AAD-/CD34+/CD133+/KDR+) cells per 10(6) mononuclear cells (MNC), was measured by flow cytometry. Result(S): The number of CEPC was significantly higher in cycling women than in age-matched men and menopausal women (26.5 per 10(6) MNC vs. 10.5 per 10(6) MNC vs. 10 per 10(6) MNC, respectively). The number of CEPC was similar in menopausal women, age-matched, and young men. Conclusion(s): The number of CEPC is influenced by an age-gender interaction. This phenomenon may explain in part the better vascular repair and relative cardiovascular protection in younger women as compared with age-matched men. (Fertil Steril (R) 2010;93:843-6. (C)2010 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.)