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Background: Diabetes profoundly affects multiple signaling pathways and key transcription factors that account for the systemic pro-inflammatory state and increased propensity for the patients to develop atherosclerosis. In addition, as a consequence of hyperglycemia, diabetic patients have decreased number and dysfunctional circulating CD34+ cells that under normal physiological conditions contribute to the maintenance of vascular homeostasis and regeneration. Emerging evidence suggests that epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation and histone modifications, are involved in the regulation of inflammatory genes in vascular cells under diabetic conditions. Since CD34+ cells are also important precursors of immune cells, we hypothesized that uncontrolled hyperglycemia might epigenetically skew CD34+ cells towards inflammatory cells.

Purpose: We sought to evaluate epigenetic priming of …