Dermal microvessel density and maturity is closely associated with atherogenic dyslipidemia and accumulation of advanced glycation end products in adult patients with type 1 diabetes

The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between established vascular risk factors and density, maturity, and reactivity of dermal blood vessels in adults with type 1 diabetes (DM1). We included 148 DM1 patients (87 men) with a median (IQR) age of 40.5 (30.5–49) years and a median diabetes duration of 21 (17–29.5) years. The control group consisted of 13 healthy volunteers (6 men) with a median (IQR) age of 36 (31–43). Accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) was assessed using the AGE-Reader device. In the immunohistochemical (IHC) analyses, anti-CD133, anti-CD34, anti-CD31, and anti-vWF autoantibodies were used. Microvessel density (MVD) in the skin was calculated using the “hot spots technique”. Microvascular function was examined by single-point laser-Doppler flowmetry (LDF). Median MVD, calculated for both papillary and reticular dermis, for CD31 antigen expression was 38 (19–56) per 1 mm2. The median CD34+ blood vessel density was 121 (100–155) per 1 mm2, CD133+ was 79 (63–92) per 1 mm2, and vWF+ was 50 (40–69) per 1 mm2. The average CD34/CD31 index was 2.78, the vWF/CD31 ratio was 1.32 and the CD133/CD31 ratio was 1.75. The CD34/CD31 index was positively associated with serum triglyceride concentration (Beta: 0.26, p = 0.012) and negatively associated with serum HDL cholesterol concentration (Beta: −0.22, p = 0.027), both independently from age, sex, diabetes duration, BMI, HbA1c value, presence of hy...
Source: Microvascular Research - Category: Biochemistry Source Type: research