Decreased and dysfunctional circulating endothelial progenitor cells in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

• Published in: Chinese medical journal Vol. 126; no. 17; pp. 3222 - 3227
• Main Authors: YANG, Yue, GAN, Ye, CAO, Jun, CHEN, Yan, HE, Zhi-hui, LUO, Hong, CAI, Shan, XIANG, Xu-dong, ZHOU, Rui, CHEN, Ping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: China Department of Geriatrics, Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha,Hunan 410011, China%Departement of Rehabilitation Medicine, Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha,Hunan 410011, China%Department of Respiratory Medicine, Hunan Provincial People's Hospital, Changsha, 410005, China%Department of Respiratory Medicine ,Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha,Hunan 410011, China%Department of Intensive Care Unit,Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha,Hunan 410011, China 2013
• Subjects: AC133 Antigen; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antigens, CD - metabolism; Antigens, CD34 - metabolism; Endothelial Cells - metabolism; Endothelial Cells - pathology; Female; Glycoproteins - metabolism; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Peptides - metabolism; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - metabolism; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - pathology; Stem Cells - metabolism; Stem Cells - pathology; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 - metabolism; 内皮型一氧化氮合酶; 内皮祖细胞; 功能失调; 外周血单个核细胞; 循环; 患者; 慢性阻塞性肺疾病; 细胞增殖能力; circulating,endothelial progenitor cells; endothelial nitric oxide synthase; nitric oxide; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• ISSN: 0366-6999; 2542-5641; 2542-5641
• DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.issn.0366-6999.20122633

Background It has been widely demonstrated that endothelial progenitor cells are involved in several diseases and that they have therapeutic implications. In order to define the altered pulmonary vascular homeostasis in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, we sought to observe the level and functions of circulating endothelial progenitor calls in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Methods The total study population included 20 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 20 control subjects. The number of circulating endothelial progenitor cells （CD34＋/CD133＋/IVEGFR-2＋cells） was counted by flow cytometry. Circulating endothelial progenitor cells were also cultured in vitro and characterized by uptake of Dil- acLDL, combining with UEA-I, and expression of von Willebrand factor and endothelial nitric oxide synthase. Adhesion, proliferation, production of nitric oxide, and expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and phosphorylated-endothelial nitric oxide synthase were detected to determine functions of circulating endothelial progenitor cells in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Results The number of circulating endothelial progenitor cells in the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease group was lower than in the control group： （0.54±0.16）% vs. （1.15±0.57）%, P 〈0.05. About 80% of adherent peripheral blood mononuclear cells cultured in vitro were double labeled with Dil-acLDL and UEA-I. The 92% and 91% of them were positive for von Willebrand factor and endothelial nitric oxide synthase, respectively. Compared with the control, there were significantly fewer adhering endothelial progenitor cells in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients： 18.7±4.8/field vs. 45.0±5.9/field, P 〈0.05. The proliferation assay showed that the proliferative capacity of circulating endothelial progenitor cells from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients was significantly impaired： 0.135±0.038 vs. 0.224±0.042, P 〈0.05. Furthermore, nitric oxide synthase （112.06±10.00 vs. 135.41±5.38, P 〈0.05）, phosphorylated endothelial nitric oxide synthase protein expression （88.89±4.98 vs. 117.98±16.49, P 〈0.05） and nitric oxide production （（25.11±5.27） Iμmol/L vs. （37.72±7.10） μmol/L, P 〈0.05） were remarkably lower in endothelial cells from the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease group than the control. Conclusion Circulating endothelial progenitor cells were decreased and functionally impaired in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.