Preliminary Study On The Treatment Of Atherosclerotic Lesions With Endothelial Progenitor Cells From Human Fetal Aorta

ObjectiveTo evaluate the feasibility of human fetal aorta-derived EPCs transfusion for thetreatment of atherosclerotic lesions, we isolated, cultured and identified endothelialprogenitor cells (EPCs) from human fetal aorta. The capability of EPCs differentiating intoendothelial cells was also analyzed. And then we evaluated the role of intravenouslytransfused human fetal aorta-derived EPCs on atherosclerotic lesions in apolipoprotein Eknockout(apoE-/-) mice.Methods1. EPCs were isolated from clinical aborted fetal aorta by digesting aorta with type Icollagenase. EPCs were cultured in DMEM/F12medium supplied with LIF, bFGF, EGF,ECGS and low serum. The expression of CD133, CD34and VEGFR2was assessed byRT-PCR, immunofluorescence staining and FACS analysis. EPCs were induced towardendothelial cells by cultured with medium containing20%FCS and VEGF.2. With ApoE-/-mice, which is prone to developing atherosclerotic lesions acceleratedby high-fat diet feeding,we attempted to investigate whether the GFP-labeled EPCs canhome to the injured endothelium and whether the local atherosclerosis formation can beprevented by such EPCs administration.Results1. EPCs derived from human fetal aorta expressed CD133, CD34and VEGFR2. TheEPCs proliferated rapidly in DMEM/F12containing LIF, bFGF, EGF and ECGS. EPCspossessed the ability of uptaking DiI-Ac-LDL and tube formation on matrigel. After induced with VEGF, the expression of CD133was decreased significantly; and theexpression of vWF, CD31and ELAM-1was increased.2. We established mice atherosclerosis model Successfully. We found investigate theGFP-labeled EPCs homing to the injured endothelium and the local atherosclerosisformation can be prevented by such EPCs administration..ConclusionsEPCs derived from early fetal aorta possess strong capability of self-renew and thepotential of differentiating into endothelial cells. EPCs may play an important role inrestoration of endothelial injury and prevention of atherosclerosis, which indicate thesecells may have the potential value for the treatment of atherosclerotic lesions.