Objective: To explore the biological behavior and the revascularizative ability of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) transfected with human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene.
Methods: EPCs were isolated from mononuclear cells in bone marrow by using the method of density gradient centrifugation, then cultured with differential velocity adherent method, EPCs were transfected by recombinant plasmid carrying GFP report gene EGFP-hTERT. The EPCs secretion and proliferation ability were detected before and after transfection. The expression of EPCs mRNA were detected by RT-PCR before and after transfection. The new capillaries of infarct area were observed.
Results: After transgenesis, the proliferation of EPCs were increased, and the secretion of NO, LDH, iNOS by EPCs were significantly increased compared to the non-transgenesis group. After transplanted the transfected EPCs into the ischemic myocardial of rats, revascularization were increased obviously.
Conclusion: EPCs maintained the original biological characteristics after transfecting exogenous hTER gene, the proliferation and survival rate were up-regulated significantly, and the revascularization ability of EPCs were significantly strengthen.
Keywords: Endothelial progenitor cells; human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT); myocardial infarction; transfection.