Effect of β-nerve growth factor on differentiation of endothelial progenitor cells in rats.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of recombinant adenovirus-mediated human β-nerve growth factor (Ad-EGFP-hβ-NGF) on the differentiation of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in rats. Methods: The successfully constructed Ad-EGFP-hβ-NGF and its negative control Ad-EGFP were infected into the isolated and purified rat EPCs to observe their morphological changes. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was conducted to detect the levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), von Willebrand factor (vWF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in different rat EPC culture solutions. Western blot was performed to determine the expression of tyrosine kinase receptor A (TrKA) protein in different groups of EPCs. Results: Primary fibrous EPCs were converted into epithelium-like cells. After infection with Ad-EGFPhβ- NGF for 1 week, some EPCs became round and exhibited neural stem cell-like changes. The expression levels of VEGF, vWF and bFGF in the Ad-EGFP-hβ-NGF infection group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < 0.01). TrKA protein in Ad-EGFP-hβ-NGF infection was also significantly up-regulated compared with that in the negative control and blank control groups (p < 0.01). Conclusion: β-NGF up-regulates the expression of TrKA receptor protein and secretion of angiogenic growth factors (i.e., VEGF, vWF and bFGF), thereby promoting the differentiation of rat EPCs, which may contribute to angiopoiesis or vascular repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]