Circulating endothelial progenitor cells in HIV infection: A systematic review
Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals have a cardiovascular disease risk that is almost thrice than that of their HIV-uninfected counterparts. Given the critical role of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in vascular homeostasis and arterial repair postinjury, coupled with their strength as biomarkers predictive of cardiovascular events, interest has arisen in characterizing EPCs in the context of HIV infection. We conducted a systematic review of the literature to determine the current state of knowledge on EPCs in the context of HIV infection. Herein, we summarize the pertinent findings of these studies and discuss important differences in the subpopulations of EPCs examined and the methodologies used for their enumeration which likely contributed to the heterogeneity observed across studies.
Authors
Costiniuk CT, Hibbert BM, Simard T, Ghazawi FM, Angel JB, O'Brien ER
Year
2013
Topics
- Population(s)
- Other
- Engagement and Care Cascade
- Treatment
- Testing
- Testing