Objective: This study was aimed at investigating the levels and relationships of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptor(VEGFR) in the bone marrow mononuclear cells (MNC) of chronic mountain sickness (CMS). Methods: A total of 34 patients with CMS and 30 controls residing at altitudes of 3 000-4 500 m were recruited for this study. The levels of VEGF, VEGFR1 and VEGFR2 in bone marrow MNC were detected by flow cytometry technique and RT-qPCR. Results: The percentage of VEGFR2 positive cells in the bone marrow MNC of CMS were higher than that of the controls[20.7% (8.1%, 67.6%) vs 8.1% (2.2%, 14.9%), P<0.05], but that of VEGFR1-positive and VEGF-positive were similar in CMS and controls. The mRNA levels of VEGFR2 were higher in the bone marrow MNC of CMS than in the controls[1.7(1.0, 5.1) vs 1.0(0.4, 2.7), P<0.05], while VEGF and VEGFR1 mRNA levels were similar between the two groups. The percentage of VEGFR2 positive cells in CMS were significantly correlated with hemoglobin (r=0.453, P=0.007) and the percentage of VEGF-positive cells (r=0.373, P=0.030). Conclusions: Bone marrow MNC of CMS may show enhanced activity of the VEGF-VEGFR2 pathway, and it appears to be involved in the pathogenesis of CMS.
目的： 探讨慢性高原病(CMS)患者骨髓单个核细胞(MNC)中血管内皮生长因子(VEGF)及其受体表达情况以及相互影响。 方法： 流式细胞术及实时定量PCR法分别检测34例CMS患者及30名对照者骨髓MNC VEGF及血管内皮生长因子受体1(VEGFR1)和VEGFR2蛋白及mRNA水平并进行比较，分析VEGF/VEGFR与各项实验室指标的相关性。 结果： 流式细胞测定CMS骨髓MNC VEGFR2表达水平高于对照组[20.7% (8.1%, 67.6%)比8.1% (2.2%, 14.9%)，P<0.05]；两组骨髓MNC中VEGF及VEGFR1表达差异均无统计学意义(均P>0.05)。CMS骨髓MNC VEGFR2 mRNA表达水平高于对照组[1.7(1.0, 5.1)比1.0(0.4, 2.7)，P<0.05]，两组骨髓MNC中VEGF及VEGFR1表达差异均无统计学意义(均P>0.05)。CMS患者骨髓MNC中VEGFR2阳性细胞数与血红蛋白含量、VEGF阳性细胞数均正相关(r＝0.453, r＝0.373，均P<0.05)。 结论： 骨髓MNC VEGFR2表达异常增高，可能促进VEGF信号传导通路，参与CMS的发生发展。.
Keywords: Bone marrow cells; Chronic; Mountain sickness; Receptor; Vascular endothelial growth factor.