Correlations between angiogenic factors and capillaroscopic patterns in systemic sclerosis.

International audienceINTRODUCTION: To assess whether nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC) patterns are associated with levels of angiogenic factors in systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: Circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and circulating endothelial cells (CECs) were measured in the peripheral blood of 60 consecutive SSc patients. Serum levels of eight endothelial markers were first measured in these 60 patients, and then in an independent replication cohort of 43 SSc patients in case of association with NVC patterns. NVC patterns were determined by four independent investigators blinded to vascular markers. RESULTS: Patients with the late NVC pattern exhibited lower EPC levels (p14 (p