Testosterone deficiency in male heart failure patients and its effect on endothelial progenitor cells

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.