Evaluation of endothelial glycocalyx in healthy volunteers – An observational study

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Astapenko, David^{a; b; c; *} | Ticha, Alena^{c; d} | Tomasova, Adela^d | Hyspler, Radomir^{b; c; d} | Zadak, Zdenek^{b; c} | Lehmann, Christian^{e; f; g; h} | Cerny, Vladimir^{a; b; c; e; i}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic | [b] Charles University, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Kralove, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic | [c] Centrum for Research and Development, University Hospital Hradec Kralove, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic | [d] Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Diagnostics, University Hospital Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic | [e] Department of Anaesthesia, Pain Management and Perioperative Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada | [f] Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada | [g] Department of Pharmacology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada | [h] Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada | [i] Department of Anaesthesiology, Perioperative Medicine and Intensive Care, Jan Evangelista Purkinje University, Masaryk Hospital, Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: David Astapenko, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Anesthesiology, Resuscitation and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Hradec Kralove, Sokolska 581, 500005 Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic. Tel.: +42 060817 7374; Fax: +42 049583 2022; E-mail: Astapenko.d@seznam.cz.

Abstract: BACKGROUND:Endothelial glycocalyx (EG) is a carbohydrate-rich gel-like mesh covering the apical surface of endothelial cells. It has been linked to the microvascular pathophysiology and tissue metabolism. However, little is known about its condition in young healthy adults. OBJECTIVE:We aimed to describe the condition of EG in young healthy adults by in vivo EG imaging and measurement of syndecan-1, a plasma marker of EG integrity in order to obtain reference values. METHODS:For in vivo EG studies we used Side-stream Dark Field imaging of the sublingual microcirculation. Recordings were analysed automatically by GlycoCheck software providing the Perfused Boundary Region (PBR) as a marker of EG thickness. Levels of syndecan-1 were analysed in plasma samples by ELISA. RESULTS:21 volunteers were included in the study. Median of the PBR value was 1.82 μm (interquartile range 1.69–2.01, 95% CI 1.79–1.97). Median concentration of syndecan-1 was 0.3 ng/ml (interquartile range 0.23–0.39, 95% CI 0.27–0.49). CONCLUSION:This study provides a comparison for cohorts of patients with a particular disease where the EG is presumably damaged. Our findings do not entirely comply with already published data in healthy individuals.

Keywords: Endothelial glycocalyx, syndecan-1, healthy volunteers

DOI: 10.3233/CH-190581

Journal: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. 75, no. 3, pp. 257-265, 2020