Chen C, Zeng L, Ding S, Xu K
Department of Hematology, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical College, Jiangsu Prov, Xuzhou, China.
Transplant Proc. 2010 Nov;42(9):3745-9. doi: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2010.07.094.
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are derived from endothelium in the aortic-gonado-mesonephric (AGM) region during embryogenesis. But little is known about whether endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) retain hematopoiesis potential after birth. In this study, we isolated adult EPCs from the bone marrow of C57BL/6 mice and identified them with an endothelial functional assay and by the CD31(+) CD133(+) CD45(-/dim) VEGFR2(+) phenotype. EPCs isolated from green fluorescence protein (GFP) transgenic C57BL/6 mice were cotransfused with bone marrow cells from wild-type C57BL/6 mice into lethally irradiated BABL/c mice. One month after transplantation, granulocytes (25.73 ± 5.43%) and lymphocytes (12.68 ± 3.26%) in peripheral blood showed GFP(+), referred to as donor EPC-derived blood cells. After an additional month, the percentage of GFP(+) granulocytes decreased to (3.69 ± 1.43%), whereas the percentage of GFP(+) lymphocytes showed no significant difference. Most of the GFP(+) elements showed a diffuse distribution in the spleen; but some were present as aggregates forming lymphoid nodules. GFP(+) endothelial cells were observed in the liver sinusoids, intestinal villi, and lung of recipient mice. These results indicated that adult EPCs not only took part in vasculogenesis, but also retained hematopoietic ability.
造血干细胞（HSCs）在胚胎发育过程中源自主动脉-性腺-中肾（AGM）区域的内皮细胞。但对于出生后内皮祖细胞（EPCs）是否保留造血潜能知之甚少。在本研究中，我们从C57BL/6小鼠的骨髓中分离出成年EPCs，并通过内皮功能测定和CD31(+) CD133(+) CD45(-/dim) VEGFR2(+)表型对其进行鉴定。将从绿色荧光蛋白（GFP）转基因C57BL/6小鼠分离的EPCs与野生型C57BL/6小鼠的骨髓细胞共同输注到经致死剂量照射的BABL/c小鼠体内。移植后1个月，外周血中的粒细胞（25.73±5.43%）和淋巴细胞（12.68±3.26%）显示为GFP(+)，即供体EPC来源的血细胞。再过1个月后，GFP(+)粒细胞的百分比降至（3.69±1.43%），而GFP(+)淋巴细胞的百分比无显著差异。大多数GFP(+)成分在脾脏中呈弥散分布；但有些以聚集形式存在形成淋巴小结。在受体小鼠的肝血窦、肠绒毛和肺中观察到GFP(+)内皮细胞。这些结果表明成年EPCs不仅参与血管生成，还保留造血能力。
