Effect of testosterone on vascular endothelial growth factor in endothelial progenitor cells of peripheral blood

Objective To observe the effect of testosterone on vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)in endothelial progenitor cells(EPCs)of peripheral blood.Methods EPCs obtained from peripheral blood of healthy male adults were cultured in vitro and identified by double fluorescent staining.EPCs were assigned into 5groups.Group A was as blank control.Groups of B,C and D were treated with testosterone 1nmol/L,10nmol/L and 100nmol/L,respectively.Group E was pretreated with phosphateidylinositol 3kinase/serine-threonine kinase(PI3K/Akt)signaling pathway inhibitor LY294002 40μmol/L for 1hbefore treated with testosterone 10nmol/L.After cultured for 48h,the expressions of VEGF protein and VEGF mRNA were detected by ELISA and RT-PCR.Results In groups of B,C and D,the expressions of VEGF protein were(173.68±26.24)pg/ml,(252.25±9.33)pg/ml and(296.38±18.31)pg/ml,and the expressions of VEGF mRNA were 9.19±3.48,11.05±2.19and 14.87±7.36,respectively,which were all higher than(106.61±18.26)pg/ml and0.13±0.16in group A(P0.05).There were no significant differences in the expressions of VEGF protein and VEGF mRNA between group E and group A(P0.05).Conclusion Testosterone may promote VEGF secretion of the EPCs through PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.