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Exercise mobilizes, augments function of endothelial progenitor cells

Researchers found exercise appeared to mobilize and augment the function of endothelial progenitor cells, which helped prime the cells for vasculogenesis, with increased capacity for proliferation, differentiation, secretion of cytokines and responsiveness to hypoxia.

Geoffrey Gurtner

The study investigated the biological function of newly mobilized endothelial progenitor cells and potential mechanisms that promote their mobilization from the bone marrow niche.

Five healthy, nonsmoking men with an average age of 29.8 years and no cardiovascular comorbidities were recruited for the study. Volunteers ran for 30 minutes on a treadmill to maintain a heart rate above 140 beats/min, and blood samples were collected before, 10 minutes after and 24 hours after exercise. The blood samples were processed for complete blood count, circulating progenitor cell quantification, endothelial progenitor cell culture and plasma collection.

The researchers found stromal cell-derived factor-1 alpha levels were present in the pre-exercise circulation and significantly increased 1.7-fold in the immediate post-exercise period. However, plasma stromal cell-derived factor-1 alpha concentrations returned to baseline levels after 24 hours.

No significant changes in endothelial progenitor cell prevalence were observed immediately after exercise; however, circulating endothelial progenitor cell counts increased 3.6 times 24 hours after exercise, according to the researchers.

Under hypoxic conditions, endothelial progenitor cells isolated immediately after exercise demonstrated a 2.4-fold increase in proliferation compared with baseline endothelial progenitor cells. The researchers also discovered that both cellular proliferation and colony-forming capacity, important progenitor cell properties, were enhanced by aerobic activity.

The researchers concluded that their results demonstrated the importance of ongoing research to explore ex vivo modulation of endothelial progenitor cells in order to maximize their potential for cell-based therapy. – by Abigail Sutton

Disclosures: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.