Effect of acute exercise on endothelial progenitor cells in patients with peripheral arterial disease

Abstract

Abstract:To determine whether exercise increases endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in patients with peripheral vascular disease, we developed a multi-parameter flow cytometry assay to rigorously assess EPCs and mature endothelial cells (ECs) in control subjects and patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) subjected to graded exercise. Blood was collected from young healthy subjects (n ϭ 9, mean age 33 years), older healthy subjects (n ϭ 13, mean age 66 years), and older subjects with PAD (n ϭ 15, mean age 69 years) before and 10 minutes after exercise. White blood cells were isolated and stained with a five-color antibody panel: FITC-anti-CD31, PE-anti-CD146, PE-anti-CD133, PerCP-Cy5.5-anti-CD3,-CD19,-CD33, PE-Cy7-anti-CD34, and APC-anti-VEGF-R2. Viability was assessed by propidium iodide exclusion. Viable, low, side scatter singlets that were CD3-, 19-, and 33-negative were counted. While baseline levels of EPCs and ECs were similar among all subjects, young healthy subjects demonstrated significantly greater (p Ͻ 0.05) levels of progenitor cells (PCs) than older healthy and PAD subjects. Levels of EPCs and ECs tended to increase in all subjects after exercise; however, increases in PCs were only observed in young healthy and PAD subjects. Further, trends in the magnitude of change of subsets with exercise were most similar between young and PAD subjects. Our findings suggest that aging may reduce baseline circulating levels of PCs, but not EPCs or ECs, and that exercise-induced mobilization of subsets may differ depending on age and presence of PAD.

Exercise-induced endothelial progenitor cell mobilization is attenuated in impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes

“…Indeed, while there was a numerical exercise-induced increase in CD34ϩ cell number across groups, there was no statistically significant mobilization of CD34ϩ cells in any group. This finding is consistent with three other reports in healthy young (35) and older adults (29,34); however, in the latter study (29), exercise did mobilize CD34ϩ cells in healthy young adults, indicating a possible effect of age on CD34ϩ cell mobilization when young and older adults were directly compared.…”

Cardiovascular Effects of Exercise Training

“…141,142 Other authors showed exercise-related EPC increase also in the absence of ischemia. 143,144 Prolonged strenuous exercise (half-marathon, marathon, or spartathlon), however, showed no change or a significant increase in circulating progenitor cells. [145][146][147][148] The principal mechanism of EPC mobilization from the bone marrow seems to depend on the activation of eNOS in the presence of several mobilizing factors such as VEGF 149 or placental growth factor.…”

Circulating endothelial and progenitor cells: Evidence from acute and long-term exercise effects

“…While studying a group of healthy young subjects, a group of healthy old and a group of patients with PAD after an acute exercise session, Shaffer et al [130] concluded that young healthy individuals have an increased capacity to mobilize EPCs, as compared with older individuals. Interestingly, patients with PAD appeared to be unable to mount a significant increase in circulating EPCs, despite the ischemic stimulus.…”