Gene expression profile of endothelial cells derived from circulating progenitors issued from patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Synovial neoangiogenesis is an early and crucial event to promote the development of the hyperplasic proliferative pathologic synovium in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Endothelial cells (ECs) are critical for the formation of new blood vessels since they highly contribute to angiogenesis and vasculogenesis. To better characterize these cells, our group has studied the gene expression profiles of ECs issued from 18 RA patients compared to 11 healthy controls. ECs derived from circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) were isolated from peripheral blood of RA patients and controls for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays. Gene expression profiles of EPC-derived ECs were determined in basal conditions and also after hypoxic exposure.