Study on Inducing of Cord Blood Derived Endothelial Progenitor Cells into Endothelial Cells

Objective To induce cord blood derived endothelial progenitor cells(EPCs)into endothelial cells,and investigate the feasibility of these cells as the seed cells of tissue engineering cardiovascular replacement.Methods Mononuclear cells were isolated from fresh cord blood by 6%HES and density gradient centrifugation.Isolated cells were cultured in medium supplemented with vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF).Attached cells were identied by morphology,immunofluorescence staining and flow cytometry.Results The percentage of mononuclear cells isolated from fresh cord blood was(3.4±2.1)×10~7/mL.The morphology of attached cells changed while being cultured and inducted,from small-sized round cells to spindle-like cells,to a typical cobblestone morphology,and the total number of cells was 10~7.After 7 days of culture,immunofluorescence staining showed that the vWF and VEGFR-2 were expressed.Compared with the original,cell markers CD_133 decreased(3.11%±1.05%) to(0.09%±0.02%),P0.05.After 14 days of culture,Weibel-Palade bodies were shown on the transmission electron microscopy photomicrographs.Conclusions There are endothelial progenitor cells in the cord blood mononuclear cells,and they can be inducted into endothelial cells and have the feasibility of as the seed cells of tissue engineering cardiovascular replacement.