Circulating Progenitor Cells Correlate with Memory, Posterior Cortical Thickness, and Hippocampal Perfusion

Abstract

Background Bone marrow-derived progenitor cells survey the vasculature and home to sites of tissue injury where they can promote repair and regeneration. It has been hypothesized that these cells may play a protective role neurodegenerative and vascular cognitive impairment. Objective To evaluate progenitor cell levels in older adults with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and to relate circulating levels to memory, brain volume, white matter lesion volume and cerebral perfusion. Method Thirty-two older adults, free of stroke and cardiovascular disease, were recruited from the community and evaluated for diagnosis of MCI versus cognitively normal (CN). Participants underwent brain MRI and blood samples were taken to quantify progenitor reserve using flow cytometry (CD34+, CD34+CD133+ and CD34+CD133+CD309+ cells). Results Participants with MCI (n=10) exhibited depletion of all CPC markers relative to those who were CN (n=22), after controlling for age, sex and education. Post-hoc age, sex and education matched comparisons (n=10 MCI, n=10 CN) also revealed the same pattern of results. Depletion of CD34+ cells correlated with memory performance, left posterior cortical thickness and bilateral hippocampal perfusion. Participants exhibited low levels of vascular risk and white matter lesion burden that did not correlate with progenitor levels. Conclusions Circulating progenitor cells are associated with cognitive impairment, memory, cortical atrophy, and hippocampal perfusion. We hypothesize that progenitor depletion contributes to, or is triggered by, cognitive decline and cortical atrophy. Further study of progenitor cell depletion in older adults may benefit efforts to prevent or delay dementia.

Associations between increased circulating endothelial progenitor cell levels and anxiety/depressive severity, cognitive deficit and function disability among patients with major depressive disorder

“…Studies have investigated the relationship of cEPC counts with cognitive function in healthy individuals or in individuals with dementia. In general, low cEPC counts were correlated with greater yearly cognitive decline, worse immediate verbal and visual memory, and worse delayed verbal memory in healthy individuals 63 , 64 or in patients with Alzheimer’s disease 65 , 66 . The correlation direction of cEPC counts and cognitive performance indicated in these studies is contrary to our findings.…”

A Novel Angiotensin-(1-7) Glycosylated Mas Receptor Agonist for Treating Vascular Cognitive Impairment and Inflammation-Related Memory Dysfunction

“…In the present study, our team has taken a novel approach to combine our extensive experience improving peptide performance via glycosylation (Egleton et al, 2001;Lefever et al, 2015) with our experience with the G-protein-linked MasR and its agonist Ang-(1-7) (Mordwinkin et al, 2012;Forte et al, 2016;Hay et al, 2017;Nation et al, 2018). We have developed a series of novel glycosylated Ang-(1-7) MasR agonists with enhanced pharmacokinetic (PK)/pharmacodynamics properties.…”

Health Factors as Potential Mediators of the Longitudinal Effect of Loneliness on General Cognitive Ability

“…Loneliness is also associated with poorer cardiovascular [18,19], immune [20], and metabolic function [21]. Physiological dysregulation also correlates with lower cognition [22][23][24][25][26], suggesting a potential mediating pathway. As an example, loneliness differentially predicts pro-inflammatory responses [17] that can lead to chronic stress and worsening cognition [1].…”