Is there an association of hematopoietic stem cell and endothelial progenitor cell markers with maturation in forearm arterial repair?

OBJECTIVES This study aims to assess the effects of the hematopoietic stem cells and endothelial progenitor cells in peripheral blood and monocyte cluster of differentiation (CD) 34, CD133 and CD309 expression levels on maturation at the repair site in patients who underwent forearm arterial repair. PATIENTS AND METHODS This prospective study included 30 patients (23 males, 7 females; mean age 28.9±1.8 years; range, 18 to 49 years) with a well-defined cut at the wrist due to a stabbing injury but no comorbid condition who presented to the emergency department of our hospital between November 2014 and November 2017. Vascular patency was assessed by Doppler sonography in patients who underwent forearm arterial repair via micro-vascular techniques. The relationships between patency and hematopoietic stem and endothelial progenitor cell markers such as CD34, CD133 and CD309 were assessed by flow cytometry. RESULTS The patients were divided into two groups according to presence of sufficient flow in the arteries repaired. The mean CD34 expression level was 72.09±3.00 in the group with maturation whereas it was 54.64±7.34 in the group without maturation, indicating a statistically significant difference (p<0.05). In addition, the likelihood of sufficient flow was increased by 1.075 per one unit increase in CD34 level. Resistive index values were significantly lower in the group with maturation and CD34 level was predictive for maturation of arterial repair. CONCLUSION In the present study, the findings demonstrated that high CD34 expression level has favorable effects on maturation after arterial repair.