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World J Stem Cells. Jul 26, 2026; 18(7): 119749
Published online Jul 26, 2026. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.119749
Published online Jul 26, 2026. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.119749
Circulating stem/progenitor cell biomarkers and prognosis in critically ill patients with gastrointestinal bleeding
Bin Xie, Jin Zhang, Hui-Feng Zhao, Intensive Care Unit, Jiashan First People’s Hospital, Jiashan 314100, Zhejiang Province, China
Yan-Hua Wen, Department of Blood Transfusion, The First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, Jiangxi Province, China
Author contributions: Xie B and Zhang J conceived and designed the study; Xie B was responsible for patient enrollment, data collection, flow cytometric analysis of circulating stem/progenitor cells, and drafted the manuscript; Zhang J and Wen YH performed statistical analyses and interpreted the data; Zhao HF supervised the study, contributed to the study design, interpreted the results, and critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content. All the authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
AI contribution statement: All the authors declare that there is no content generated by AI in the manuscript, including language modification, structure optimization, code assistance or literature organization. These contents are reviewed and revised manually by the authors, and confirm that we are fully responsible for the accuracy, originality and integrity of the manuscript according to the guidance of the International Medical Journal Editorial Committee and the publishing ethics committee.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Jiashan First People’s Hospital in Zhejiang Province, No. 2026-005.
Informed consent statement: Owing to the retrospective nature of the study, the Ethics Committee waived the requirement for informed consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: There is no additional data available.
Corresponding author: Hui-Feng Zhao, MD, Intensive Care Unit, Jiashan First People’s Hospital, No. 1218 Tiyu South Road, Luoxing Street, Jiashan 314100, Zhejiang Province, China. zhaohf9945@163.com
Received: April 8, 2026
Revised: May 7, 2026
Accepted: June 9, 2026
Published online: July 26, 2026
Processing time: 105 Days and 17.6 Hours
Revised: May 7, 2026
Accepted: June 9, 2026
Published online: July 26, 2026
Processing time: 105 Days and 17.6 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: In this retrospective of intensive care unit patients with gastrointestinal bleeding, early circulating endothelial progenitor cell (CD34+KDR+) levels were lower in patients who died within 28 days and remained associated with mortality after adjusting for clinical variables. The endothelial progenitor cell-clinical model showed moderate discrimination and high specificity, but limited sensitivity; therefore, it should not be interpreted as a standalone early warning tool for high-risk screening. Its current value is mainly hypothesis-generating and may complement organ dysfunction scores and help identify patients with relatively low predicted risk, pending external validation and standardized flow cytometry workflows.