Study Of Endothelial Progenitor Cell Transplantation On Monocrotaline (MCT)-induced Pulmonary Artery Hypertension Rats

Objective:To investigate the survival, disposition of EPCs, the effect of allogeneic endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) transplant on monocrotaline (MCT)-induced pulmonary hypertension in rats.Method:Constructing pulmonary artery hypertension rats model by MCT. Identifying by color doppler. EPCs were cultured and identified in vitro. After the administration of EPCs 3 weeks, determing pulmonary hemodynamic parameters, calculating the right heart index; observing pulmonary vascular structural change.Determing the value of NO and ET-1 by nitrate reductase and radioimmunoassay respectively. Left lung embedded in paraffin sections, HE staining, observed under the microscope, used image acquisition and software image analysis to measure wall thickness (WT), vascular total area (TA) and the wall area (WA) and so on .Results:Compared with the model group, EPCs treatment group mPAP decreased [(21.89±2.69) versus (29.33±3.01) mmHg (P <0.05)].Right heart index decreased [(0.39±0.04) versus (0.49±0.05) (P <0.05)] .Pulmonary artery thickness index(WT%) [(17.67±3.76)%] versus [(29.85±4.27)%] (P <0.05), the pulmonary artery area index (WA%) [(54.60±3.94)%] versus [(74.77±4.52) %](P<0.05). The NO value of the pulmonary blood: (49.28±5.31) umol/L versus (21.64±3.06) umol /L(P <0.05), the ET-1 value of the pulmonary blood: (259.20±29.08) pg/ml versus (354.40±36.35) pg/ml (P <0.05).Conclusion:This study suggested that the allogeneic transplantion of EPCs can effectively improve pulmonary artery hypertension . It can be effective to reduce pulmonary artery pressure. The mechanism may be related to that EPCs differentiate into vascular endothelial cells, repairing the damage pulmonary vascular endothelial cells, improving endothelial function, improving endothelial cells secretion , reversing pulmonary vascular remodeling.